To Win The Game
by Usearki
Summary: After Atem returns to the afterlife, Seto Kaiba takes what he thinks will be his best chance to finally beat Yugi in a duel. When he fails, he decides to beat Yugi at a different game instead and sets out to seduce Anzu where Yugi never could. (Warning for preg in later chapters.)
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N**- So here is the start of last year's NaNoWriMo project. Now Azureshipping wasn't really my thing, but this story came to me sometime last year and would not leave me alone until I had written it out. I had a lot of fun writing it and I certainly have a better appreciation for the pairing now!

The first draft of the story is complete and I shall be editing as I post. Hopefully it won't take me forever to get it done. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto Kaiba scowled as the chartered ship sailed down the river away from the God forsaken place where that so called 'ceremonial duel' had taken place. He still wasn't exactly sure what had happened there, but whether it were hologram or hallucination, seeing the 'other Yugi' separate from his host like that had been most... disconcerting. Then when the spirit had lost and had left to go back to his afterlife? The most alarming thing that occurred there had been the moment he had seen the man that could have been his twin on the other side of the portal. But no matter how much the geek squad pestered him about it he would never admit that he was related to that doppelgänger in any way, be it ancestor, past self or both.

The second most disconcerting thing had been watching the friendship fusion dissolving into tears as the 'ancient Pharaoh' had passed through the portal to his eternal rest. Yugi especially had been most upset, although he had done his best to put a brave face on it for the sake of the others.

However, Kaiba knew that this was his chance. With the ancient spirit no longer around to support Yugi and with that causing Yugi to be burdened by grief, he knew that there would be no better opportunity to defeat the diminutive duelist that was his rival. If there was anything that Kaiba had learned over his time in the business world, then it was to strike when it was most advantageous and there was never likely to be another chance like this!

Kaiba stood there at the stern of the ship for a few moments longer as he watched the place they had left receding into the distance. He was running through strategies and scenarios in his mind when he was disturbed by a familiar presence approaching from behind him.

"Kaiba?"

Kaiba turned to find Yugi standing right behind him, his little entourage not far behind. "What is it that you want, Mutou?" he asked, crossing his arms arrogantly and glaring down at him.

"I just wanted to thank you, both for bringing us here and taking us home again," Yugi said.

"It was just a means to an end," Kaiba said, waving a hand dismissively. "Speaking of which," He regarded Yugi with a sinister smirk. "I challenge you to a duel. Right now."

"What the hell, Kaiba?" Jonouchi said, moving towards the pair threateningly. "Yugi's only just..." Jou stopped as Yugi held a hand up, stopping him in his tracks. This was something that caused Kaiba to sneer.

"Nice to see that you've managed to train that mutt somewhat," he said, casting a contemptuous look across at the Jonouchi who was now having to be restrained by both Honda and Otogi whilst Anzu looked on helplessly. "However, he obviously needs some more training yet."

"I accept, Kaiba," Yugi said quietly, that simple statement enough to make his friends stop in their tracks. "I will duel you."

"What? Yug', you don't have to..." Jonouchi started, only for Yugi to raise his hand to stop him again.

"Yes, I do," Yugi said, never taking his eyes from Kaiba. "What would..." he faltered slightly, "what would Atem think if I just gave up without even trying? As I said, I will duel you, Kaiba."

"Good," Kaiba said coolly. "I will be generous and see you here on deck after giving you one hour to prepare. Don't be late." With that he stalked off to his own cabin to prepare for the duel as the group of friends surrounded their 'leader'. Kaiba knew that this was definitely his last chance. If he couldn't beat Yugi now, then he knew that he never would.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Two hours later found one very dispirited Seto Kaiba slumping back to his cabin, the very image of a man defeated. Far from being weakened from losing the spirit that had resided within the golden puzzle that no longer hung around his neck, Yugi had instead been even stronger, almost as if he were out to prove that the defeat of the spirit had not been a one off, to prove that he was more than capable of standing on his own two feet and quite able to duel on his own.

Kaiba sighed as he poured himself a drink then booted his computer to review the video footage of the duel. He shortly had the video up and running, seeing the look of determination on his face that was a mirror for Yugi's own. Yugi's friends were rooting for him all the way and cheering him on with gusto whilst he stood on the opposite side all on his own.

Was there nothing he could do to defeat Yugi? Yes, he may have Money and the largest gaming company in the world, but all that felt as though it counted for nothing when there seemed to be no game that he could best Yugi at.

He took a large gulp from the cut glass of expensive malt whiskey he held in his hand, the warmth of the alcohol spreading through his system as he contemplated his lot. Then he continued to sip at the amber liquid, somewhat numbing the pain he felt as he watched to the end of the duel and beyond, the group of friends surrounding Yugi and slapping him on the back even as he himself made his bitter exit.

Then he thought he saw something that seemed to be out of place. He backed the video up, let it play for a moment, then stopped it at the critical moment.

On the screen he could see that he was just leaving the deck, head held high despite his defeat, determined not to show any weakness until he was out of sight. Jonouchi and Honda were enthusiastically congratulating Yugi on his latest win whilst Yugi was looking wistfully at Anzu. But Anzu wasn't watching Yugi. No, the cheerleader was watching him as he left the deck with something approaching concern etched upon her features.

That was the moment he hatched The Plan™. It was painfully obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that Mutou was infatuated with the cheerleader girl. It was also plain for anyone that cared to see it that Anzu had only had eyes for Yugi's 'darker half'. Now that the spirit was no longer around, the dweeb was obviously hoping that Mazaki would transfer her affections over to him, something that clearly wasn't going to happen.

But that was where he, Seto Kaiba, would step in. Of course, he couldn't just go up to her and say "Mazaki, be my girlfriend." No, that course of action would inevitably be doomed to utter failure. Instead he would use her love of 'friendship' to insinuate himself into her life in order to enable the circumstances where he could win this particular round, and he thought he had just the way to go about it.

Yugi Mutou may be able to beat him at Duel Monsters, but there was no way that he could ever win the girl. At least, not if Seto Kaiba had anything to do with it.

But how would he manage to talk to her without all her geeky friends interfering?

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As it happened, he wouldn't have to worry about that for very long. About half an hour and a couple of drinks later, there was a knock on his cabin door. He walked across the room on unsteady legs in order to answer it, only to be surprised at just who it was that had come to disturb him.

"Mazaki," he said, affecting indifference as he walked away from the door, leaving her free to follow him into the room if she so desired. He sat back down, noting that she had indeed entered the room and closed the door behind her. "So, to what do I owe this... pleasure?"

Anzu, as was expected of her, came right to the point. "That was a low thing you did today, Kaiba," she said, crossing her arms as she glared across the room at him. "Yugi had only just said goodbye to Atem and was still in grief. He didn't need you to challenge him on top of that."

"On the contrary," Seto said coolly, swirling the liquid in his glass and taking a sip before continuing. "As much as it pains me to admit it, I may have actually done him a favour."

"How on earth do you qualify that as a favour?" Anzu asked incredulously.

"It proved to him once and for all that he does not need his... other half to make him a good duelist and it will have helped to shake him out of whatever funk he would have got himself into if he had been allowed to brood over it." He sighed and took another sip of his drink. "And I have to accept that if I can't beat him even under these circumstances then it is most likely that I never will."

"I... suppose you're right," Anzu said grudgingly, "But I know that it wasn't something you did out of the goodness of your heart."

"No," Kaiba said, staring off into space. "After all, if he were to give up dueling then I would never get the chance to defeat him. Not that I suppose I could as long as he has the support of his friends." He said that last with a sneer.

"Oh Kaiba, why do you insist on pushing us all away?" Anzu asked. "You should know by now that we have no ulterior motives and we just..."

"I know that," Kaiba cut her off, "it's just... hard for me." He chanced a glance and Mazaki and she was clearly eating his act up with a spoon. "I've been reliant on myself for so long that I suppose I've forgotten what it was like to have friends..." he trailed off and stared off into space, acting as if he were thinking about what it would be like to be in a group like theirs and as though he'd been drinking an awful lot more than he really had.

"Just let us in, Kaiba," Anzu said passionately. "I can't promise that it will be plain sailing, but we just want to be there for you."

"I don't know," Kaiba said as he sat up in his chair and looked at her warily. "Maybe... maybe I could let one person in," he said, fixing Anzu with the intensity of his gaze, "just to... get used to the idea."

"I suppose that's a reasonable way to go about it," Anzu said uncertainly, "but... who do you have in mind?"

Kaiba suddenly got up from his chair and began unsteadily pacing the room. "Not Yugi. He's my rival... I can't do that just yet," he mused. "I can't trust Otogi and the Mutt is completely out of the question, as is his primate friend," his features twisted in distaste at the thought of either of those two hanging all over him, then he stopped and looked at Anzu. "You," he said abruptly. "You can teach me how to be a friend and how a friend should act."

"I... I suppose that would be OK." Anzu wasn't sure about this. Kaiba had most definitely been drinking for a while and she wasn't sure how he would react when he sobered up.

"But you can't tell anyone," Kaiba said seriously, "not even Yugi."

Anzu continued to think for a moment. Yes, this could be a chance to finally make the elder Kaiba brother a part of their group, something that Yugi had lamented over on more than one occasion. But then Kaiba was obviously under the influence of alcohol and even if that were taken out of the equation there was always the chance that he could be playing some kind of cruel trick. However, even having considered all of that, Anzu was too much of an optimist and she couldn't let this chance pass by, so she found herself agreeing.

"OK Kaiba, I will help you to learn about friendship," she declared, "and as my first act as your friend, I shall ask you how much you have been drinking and whether it is likely to have affected your... decision making processes?"

"I haven't really had all that much," Kaiba said. "I will probably have a bad head in the morning, so you should avoid me then, but I won't change my mind if that is what you are worried about." That wasn't a lie either as he already knew full well that he wouldn't change his mind. He hadn't drunk very much at all really, but almost any amount of alcohol left him prone to waking up with a killer headache the next day.

"I'm glad to hear that," Anzu said, "and I think I can help you with the headache. Do you have any paracetamol?"

Kaiba nodded and opened his desk drawer, pulling out a small packet of the painkillers.

"Good. Now you should take two of those and drink a large glass of water before you go to sleep," she instructed.

"And how is that supposed to help?" Kaiba asked sceptically.

"I'd have thought you would have known this," Anzu mused before answering. "Alcohol dehydrates and the hangover that you experience the next morning is mainly down to nothing more than a lack of fluid in the system. Drinking a glass of water before you go to sleep will mitigate some of the effects, the paracetamol will help with the rest and you should wake up feeling a whole lot better than you would have done otherwise."

"Hmm... I'll take your word for it," Kaiba said, then he yawned. "I think I shall turn in then. Good night Mazaki."

"Good night Kaiba," Anzu said as she left the room. She looked slightly troubled as she left as he had clearly given her a lot to think about.

As the door closed behind Yugi's little cheerleader, a sinister grin appeared on Kaiba's face. Phase one of his plan had worked out perfectly and with relatively little effort on his part. Now he just needed to plan the rest and soon Anzu would be putty in his hands.

He could imagine the look on Yugi's face as the news broke right now and he could hardly wait to see it, but he forced himself to calm down.

He knew that this would take time and he would have to be patient as he worked it through, but that would just make victory all the sweeter.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next morning, Kaiba blinked his eyes open then sat up in shock as he realised that he did not have a headache despite drinking more than enough to give him a hangover the night before. He had followed Mazaki's instructions on how to avoid one to a T, taking a couple of painkillers and drinking plenty of water before he went to bed, but he could not help but be surprised to find that it had actually had the effect she had promised. Of course, drinking all that water had a predictable effect on him, so he wasted no time in getting out of bed, heading to the bathroom and relieving his bladder before getting washed and dressed.

He still felt slightly woozy, but he knew that he could mitigate that by obtaining some breakfast, so he headed towards the galley, steeling himself to deal with the geek squad, but he was surprised as the only person there was Anzu.

"Good morning Kaiba," Anzu said politely as he entered.

"I'd hardly call it good," Kaiba snapped reflexively, then he mentally face palmed as he remembered that he was supposed to be making friends with her in order to seduce her away from the midget's side.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Anzu said, radiating sympathy. "Did my suggestion not work?"

"It did, thank you," Kaiba said, making an effort to be more gentle this time. "Is there any more coffee?" he asked, noting that Anzu was nursing a cup of the steamingly hot beverage.

"There's a fresh pot over there," Anzu said, indicating the counter. Kaiba nodded and poured himself a cup, making it just the way he liked it, then he returned to sit opposite Anzu.

Kaiba grimaced mentally as he realised that he would have to make small talk, but then he had to think of his plan. Whatever was to happen, he would let Anzu make the first move. He knew that she couldn't help but talk, although he was eternally grateful that she wasn't as loud as the mutt.

"Are you feeling alright, Kaiba?" she asked, somehow concerned that he wasn't actually biting her head off yet. She knew that she was inviting him to do so now, but she really couldn't stand protracted silences.

"I do believe that I already answered that question," Kaiba said, regarding Anzu coolly over the rim of his coffee cup.

"That's not what I meant, Kaiba," Anzu said, shaking her head. "I was wondering if you were OK after... Yugi won the duel yesterday." She worried as Kaiba was silent for a long time and Anzu wondered if she had just ruined this 'friendship' before it had chance to begin. "I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's fine," Kaiba said with a sigh. "I have already accepted that I will never defeat him and it is time to move on."

"I'm sorry, Kaiba," Anzu said. "I know beating Yugi meant a lot to you."

"It did, but I think I can let it go now," Kaiba waved his hand as if he were brushing the defeat aside, then turned the conversation back to Anzu. "But what about you?" he asked. "It can't have been easy watching your friend... leave like that."

Anzu looked at Kaiba stunned for a moment, surprised that he would even think to ask her such a thing. "I... I'm OK I guess," she said. "I know it probably had to happen that way and he is back where he belongs, but it was still a sad occasion." She looked up at Kaiba with a smile. "Thank you for asking."

Kaiba nodded then stood as he heard the noises of the other passengers as they made their way to the galley. In a way he was grateful that the mutt was so noisy as it gave him ample time to make his retreat. "See you around, Mazaki," he said as he made to leave the galley.

"Hold on Kaiba," Anzu called him before he could go. He turned to look at her and had to bring a hand up quickly to catch the cereal bar that she threw at him. "It's not good to skip breakfast," she said. "Eat that and it will help clear the rest of your hangover."

"Thank you Mazaki," he said, then he turned to leave the galley, plastering a scowl on his face as he walked past the rest of the geek squad in the corridor outside, determined not to give anything away. However he waited out of sight to listen in as he wanted to hear what Anzu would say to her friends when he wasn't around. Would she keep his confidence or would she give the situation away?

"Oi! Anzu!" Jonouchi was heard to yell. Kaiba shook his head as he wondered why the mutt was shouting as Anzu couldn't have been more than a few feet away from him. "Did Kaiba do anything to you?" he demanded.

"No, Jonouchi," Anzu replied patiently, "he didn't bother me at all."

"You mean he didn't even say anything to you?" Honda asked incredulously.

"Look, he came in for his coffee, that's all," Anzu insisted. "Don't be so hard on the guy. After all, we could have been left to make our own way to the site for the ceremonial duel and back. He didn't have to do this for us."

"That much is true," Yugi chimed in, "and you know I've always said that underneath that hard exterior, Kaiba isn't all that bad."

Kaiba moved away, now having heard enough. He was satisfied that Anzu was going to do her part and keep things to herself so he would be content with that for now.

But he would do whatever it took to win the game.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - I should probably also add a disclaimer for some amount of OOC?

Over time and from reading lots of fanfiction I have learned that everyone has their own interpretation of how different characters would act and that something different from my own headcanon is not necessarily wrong. I've read some stories where Kaiba was completely and irredeemably nasty or fucked up (as in worse than before he was Mind Crushed), but there are so many others where he is way too nice - and I admit that I'm probably erring on the side of too nice myself. However, it is always interesting to see what other people come up with.

I just wrote what was in my head, so... I hope you enjoy it anyway, despite any OOC issues. :)

Also, thank you for all the reviews and alerts/favourites. They really made my day. ^_^

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Kaiba didn't have much to do with any of the group for the rest of the trip home, neither on the ship or on the plane, although he did make sure to 'bump into' Anzu at least once or twice and he made sure that he was civil to her.

It was, however, to be a couple of weeks after they had arrived back in Domino before he went out of his way to get into contact with her, shocking Anzu when the phone rang one Friday evening. "Hello," she said as she answered the call.

"Mazaki," Kaiba said shortly.

"Kaiba?" Anzu's surprise was evident in the tone of her voice. "I didn't think I'd be hearing from you."

"Well, I did say that I wanted your... help," he hedged.

"Oh, of course,"Anzu said. "Although to be honest I was beginning to think that you had changed your mind," she finished sheepishly

"Not at all," Kaiba replied, "and you could always have called me," he pointed out.

"Well, I wasn't sure that you would have wanted me to," Anzu said uncertainly, "and I wouldn't have wanted to disturb your work or your time with your brother. It is a friend's job to be considerate after all."

"Thank you for your consideration," Kaiba said, "but it really wasn't necessary."

She paused a moment as she pondered that, then continued, "I probably would have called you if you had left it too much longer," she added, "but one of the things putting me off was that you didn't give me your number and I would have had to call you at Kaiba Corporation."

"Hmm, now that is an oversight on my part and easily remedied," Kaiba said. "Do you have a pen to hand?" he asked. Anzu said that she did, so he rattled off his number and had her read it back to him to make sure that she had got it right. "So... what is it that friends do?" he asked.

Anzu smiled at the uncertainty she heard in Kaiba's voice, both glad that she wasn't alone in feeling out of her depth and that he couldn't see her smile as he would almost certainly have taken it the wrong way. "Well, we go and hang out together at places like the park or the arcade and we talk a lot about what we've been doing or any problems we might have..."

"Hmm..." Kaiba was contemplative. "Well, going out is probably out of the question," he sighed. "I tend not to be able to go many places without being instantly recognised."

"I... I think I may have a solution for that," Anzu ventured, "that is, if you can trust me."

Kaiba was silent for a moment, making Anzu worry that she'd already pushed too far with the trust thing. She was under no illusion that it would be anywhere near easy to deal with Kaiba and he wasn't likely to trust anyone. However, she was surprised at his next words.

"Fine, I'll trust you" he said grudgingly. "I'll have a car pick you up tomorrow afternoon at around two."

Anzu knew what it had cost Kaiba to say he would trust her like that and she couldn't help but feel warm inside. "That will be fine," she said, the smile obvious in her voice. "I'm not doing anything tomorrow after all."

"Oh," Kaiba sounded a touch contrite. "I should have asked first, shouldn't I?"

"It's fine, Kaiba, I understand," Anzu said. "Just try to remember to ask next time. See you tomorrow."

"Thank you Anzu," Kaiba said. "I'll look forward to it."

Anzu smiled as she replaced the handset. She would do her very best to show Seto Kaiba how to have fun and how to be a good friend even if it killed her. Although... she did hope that it wouldn't be THAT difficult.

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As he rang off, Kaiba gave the phone a contemptuous look. It was almost TOO easy as Anzu was almost as eager as Mutou to believe that you could find was good in anybody if you were to look hard enough.

Still, he knew that he would have to take this slowly. He could be a patient man when it suited him and he would go to any lengths in order to get one over on Yugi at last. It was all for the game. At least that's what he continued to tell himself as he found that he was actually looking forward to whatever it was that Anzu had in mind.

Maybe she could surprise him yet.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next day at 2pm sharp, Kaiba's car came to pick Anzu up as he had promised. Anzu sat quietly in the back of the limousine, wondering that he hadn't come to pick her up himself. But she soon rationalised that he was a busy man and he could easily have left her to make her own way to the mansion after all.

However, it didn't take long to get there and it was only a few minutes later that the door of the limousine was being opened for her and she was stepping out of the vehicle. As she walked across the gravel drive towards the house, her eyes alighted on Kaiba who was waiting at the top of the steps for her. He looked more relaxed than usual, having disposed of his buckles and infamous trench coat, simply standing there in a black turtle neck and black trousers. If he was prepared to appear before her in such a manner then maybe this would be a touch easier than she had feared.

Kaiba dismissed the driver then turned his attention to the girl that was approaching him. "Good afternoon, Mazaki," he said at least somewhat pleasantly.

"Good afternoon to you too, Kaiba," she said with a sunny smile.

"Come on in then," he said, turning away and walking inside the grand entrance.

Anzu followed him inside, eyes initially darting around at the grandeur of the place but she soon made an effort to stop herself, knowing it was likely that Kaiba wouldn't appreciate her gawking like some gold-digging harpy. "Err... how are you today?" she asked by way of covering her nervousness.

"Tired, stressed, the usual," Kaiba said, waving a hand nonchalantly. He led her to the sitting room where he bade her to sit. Anzu complied and perched gingerly on the edge of an expensive looking sofa.

"Where's Mokuba?" she asked.

"Off playing video games, I expect," Kaiba replied, the hint of a scowl on his features. "But that is not what you are here for," he stated.

"No, of course not," Anzu said, making sure to tread carefully. "I was just wondering if he knew I was here, that's all."

"No, he doesn't," Kaiba said with a sigh. "He's got some friends over for the afternoon and he knows that I'm busy so he won't disturb me." He looked at Anzu expectantly, "So what was it that you had in mind for our time together this afternoon?" he asked.

"Well, I thought that we could head over to Ludo, maybe watch a movie then go to the arcade and hang out for a while. You know, the sort of things I told you that friends do."

"I don't know if you remember," Kaiba said with a grimace, "but I did tell you that I can't really go out without being followed by the press or otherwise harassed and mobbed."

"Well, yes, I do recall that," Anzu said, "but if we were to disguise you somewhat..."

Kaiba gave a bitter laugh, "I've tried that in the past," he said. "It never really seemed to work out. Someone always noticed me."

"OK, but... I think we should give it a try anyway," Anzu insisted. "Maybe I can give you some pointers that you haven't thought of and it has to be worth a try at least."

Kaiba almost laughed in her face, but he restrained himself and bit that back – for the sake of the game. "Fine," he said reluctantly. "What is it that you had in mind?"

"There isn't really that much to it, to be honest," Anzu said. "Less is more and you don't have to go out wearing a flasher mac and a hat. That just screams that you're a suspicious person." She saw Kaiba flinch ever so slightly and she knew that she'd hit the nail on the head but she let it pass. "First you need to find some casual clothes. Jeans, t-shirts, that kind of thing."

"I'm sure I can come up with something," Kaiba said. "Follow me." He strode from the room, Anzu almost having to run to keep up with him. Soon he entered another grandly appointed room, resplendent in while and blue with a large bed dominating one side. She blinked, then blushed as she realised that this had to be Kaiba's bedroom. She didn't have time to begin feeling self conscious before Kaiba opened a door to one side, revealing a walk in wardrobe. She stood quietly as he walked inside then jumped when he came back out, brandishing a pair of light blue jeans and a white casual shirt.

"Will these do?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so," Anzu observed. "Oh, you'll also need to ditch the boots. Maybe you could wear... trainers of some kind?"

Kaiba looked at her with a hint of irritation mixed with amusement. "If I didn't know better then I'd think that you were trying to get me to dress like the mutt."

"Well," Anzu looked uncomfortable, but she knew that she couldn't lie, "that is the kind of look that I was thinking of," she admitted, continuing quickly as Kaiba's expression darkened, "but you will make it look good and who would expect the Great Seto Kaiba to go out dressed like that?" She cringed as she expected him to explode anyway and to throw her out.

"I... suppose you are correct," Kaiba admitted with a sigh, "but despite this, people are still going to recognise me." He gestured in the general direction of his face, "There are disadvantages to having my face constantly plastered all over the press."

"Just get changed," Anzu said gently, "I'll deal with the rest afterwards." She breathed a sigh of relief as Kaiba nodded and walked off into the en-suite bathroom to change, leaving Anzu to just stand there awkwardly and wait for him to return. It was a few minutes later that he came, looking very much different to how he usually did.

"You could have sat down, you know," Kaiba said with a smile.

"I... didn't want to assume," she stuttered as she took in Kaiba's change. She certainly hadn't been prepared for how different he would look in casual clothes and she found that she did like it.

"We are supposed to be... friends, are we not?" Kaiba asked. "Just treat my home like you would the houses of any of your other friends."

"Part of being a good friend is knowing the others limits," Anzu said. "I haven't learned yours yet and I really don't want to upset you."

"Thank you Anzu," Kaiba said with an incline of his head to show that he was genuine. "But don't worry. As long as you don't mess with my computer or use my bed as a trampoline, I'm sure that you'll be fine."

Anzu looked up into Kaiba's eyes and her breath caught, not only because he was smiling, but because he was so close to her. When had he managed to sneak up on her like that? She averted her eyes and hoped that she wasn't blushing. "If you can sit down, I'll make sure that no-one is likely to recognise you when we go out," she said.

"Fine," Kaiba said, backing off and crossing over to the bed. "Will this be OK?" he asked as he sat down on the edge.

"Th... that will be fine," Anzu said, blushing slightly as she crossed over to where Kaiba was sitting. She placed the bag that she had been holding next to Kaiba on the bed then she opened it up. "Do you have a hairbrush?" she asked, not wanting to possibly offend Kaiba by using one of her own.

Kaiba gave her a quizzical look, then stood and walked into the bathroom, returning a moment later with his own personal hairbrush. He didn't say anything, but simply gave Anzu the brush and sat down, waiting to see what it was that she had in mind.

She gave Kaiba's hair a couple of experimental swipes with the brush before giving it a good brush through. She placed the implement it to one side and carefully touched his hair with her hands. "You have really soft hair, Kaiba," she said.

"Mmmm..." Kaiba murmured. He was surprised at how good it felt to have someone touch his hair like that. This was a very... intimate moment, he supposed. Ah well, all for the game. "It should be soft, what with the shampoo and conditioner I use," he said.

"I can imagine," Anzu said with a shake of her head. She reached into her bag and brought out a spritzer bottle. "Your hair will need to be damp for this, so..." she tailed off, waiting to see if Kaiba would raise an objection.

She was surprised when Kaiba grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. "Do whatever it is that you want to do," he said. "As long as you're not going to dye it green or cut it all off, you can do what you like."

"Oh no, I won't be doing anything as drastic as that," Anzu said reassuringly, although she couldn't help but smile at the reminder of the time that Kaiba had come to school with green hair.

"In that case, if I don't like whatever it is that you do, all I have to do is wash my hair and it will be gone," Kaiba rationalised. "Don't worry so much."

Anzu nodded and got to work. She dampened his hair using the water from the spritzer bottle then she applied some gel, slicking his hair back then running her hands through it to give it some kind of style before bringing a few locks forward to complete the look. She then dug into her bag again, pulling out a case that contained a pair of glasses, theater props that she had somehow acquired during the last school production. Once they were in place, she bade Kaiba to take a look in the mirror and judge how she had done.

"I don't look anything like myself," Kaiba said with some surprise. Who knew that some cheerleader had it in her to suggest that he strip away everything that made Seto Kaiba who he was. He felt oddly naked without the outer persona that he had cultivated for so long, but he could feel the potential inherent in this turn of events. He supposed that if he hadn't found himself saddled with a bunch of cretins for employees who would not even dare to suggest that he do such a thing then he could have done something like this much sooner, but he had been so fixated on keeping the image of Kaiba at all costs that it had not even crossed his mind.

"What do you think?" Anzu asked, clearly worried that Kaiba had not said anything further.

"It's... different," Kaiba ventured, looking at himself critically in the mirror. "Not bad at all. Do you have any more suggestions?"

"Well, obviously I wouldn't be able to call you Kaiba when we were out, or... Seto for that matter." She blushed slightly as she said his given name.

"Quite," Kaiba agreed. "That would blow our cover almost immediately." He thought about it for a moment then came up with a name. "You can call me... Seth," he said reluctantly.

"Are you sure?" Anzu asked. She knew how much Kaiba hated any reference to Ancient Egypt and his past life, so she was surprised that he would suggest it. "We can come up with something else if you're not comfortable with it."

"I am sure," Kaiba said. "As much as I am loath to admit it, I will answer to that name as readily as my own." He pierced Anzu with a reflected stare, "If you tell anyone that..."

"I won't," she said quickly. "Friends know how to keep each others confidences. I won't betray you."

"See that you don't," Kaiba said coldly.

Anzu let that pass as she knew that he had trust issues. To push this could ruin everything and the best way to prove herself was with actions rather than words. "Well if that's settled, you can't call me Mazaki when we are out. You can call me Anzu." She stopped for a moment, considering something. "How are we going to travel to Ludo?" she asked.

It was Kaiba's turn to think for a moment. "There is an older car at the back of the garage," he said. "It was actually intended for the housekeeper to use but she insisted on using her own so it has just been sitting there, although it still gets maintained along with the other cars. It will be most suitable for this."

"So that's settled then," Anzu said, clapping her hands together.

"Quite, so, shall we?" Kaiba said as he stood and extended his arm for her to take.

Anzu blushed as she took Kaiba's arm and he led her from the room and to the garage. Kaiba noticed that blush and couldn't contain a smirk, although he made sure to keep his face away from the girl next to him. He knew better than to rush it, but that blush was a sign of steady progress. Hell, the seduction of Anzu Mazaki would probably be even easier than he had originally thought!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Half an hour later found Kaiba pulling up in the car park outside the movie theater in Ludo, which was the next town over from Domino. Kaiba courteously opened the door for his passenger, then they walked together into the lobby of the building. "What would you like to see, Anzu?" he asked.

Anzu took some time to look over the options. "Hmm... nothing sappy," she said, smiling as Kaiba gave an obvious sigh of relief. "I wouldn't be that cruel." She turned back to the board and was about to ask Kaiba if he had a preference, when she was rudely interrupted.

"Oh look, if it isn't Anzu Mazaki," a girl said in a mean tone as she approached the pair, followed closely by some other girls that were obviously her cronies. Anzu's eyes widened as she recognised the voice.

"Makoto," she said sourly. It was just about typical that she would happen to run into this group over here - and that they obviously hadn't grown up any since she'd last seen them. Couldn't she get a break?

"Oh, so you do remember me then?" Makoto said, then her expression turned decidedly nasty, "but then you wouldn't forget that would you." She laughed then turned her attention to Seto who was watching events unfold with a dispassionate air. "And who is this? Your date?" She turned a seductive look onto the tall brunet. "What say you ditch her and come with us. We can show you a much better time than she ever could."

"How about no," Seto said coldly, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"Hmph. I guess that he's about your level Mazaki," she spat.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Seto demanded, eyes narrowing dangerously, although the effect was muted somewhat by the glasses adorning his face.

"Well, you are obviously a nerd," Makoto said condescendingly. "Nerds are the only kind of boy who could possibly be interested in Anzu."

Kaiba bristled and was obviously about to rip Makoto a new one. Anzu knew that would have ruined his disguise so she quickly spoke up. "Better a nerd than those brainless jocks you keep dating," Anzu spat. "Besides, Seth isn't a nerd."

"If it looks like a nerd and talks like a nerd... oh, and is out with Anzu Mazaki, then it's a nerd," Makoto replied flippantly. "Besides, he'll find out just what kind of person you are soon enough. Come on girls," she said, turning back to her sneering posse, "lets leave the loser and her nerdy boyfriend to their play date. Oh," she turned to Kaiba and sent him a smouldering gaze, "you can come and call me if you want to find out what a date with a real woman is like."

"I'll let you know how it goes then," Kaiba said as he pulled Anzu close, "after all, Anzu is 100 times the woman you could ever hope to be." He waved at her sarcastically, "Bye now."

Makoto stepped back, stunned, then scowled and stormed away followed by her cohorts. Kaiba watched her go with some satisfaction. She hadn't expected to be turned down and it had obviously hurt. He turned his attention back to the trembling girl by his side.

"Anzu, what..."

Anzu looked up and away with too bright eyes as Makoto went out of sight. "Damn her," she spat, grabbing Kaiba's hand and dragging him to the ticket booth. "What is the next movie to start?" she demanded.

"Death Zombies from Outer Space 2," the cashier replied.

"Fine. I'll take two for that one please," she said, paying for the tickets before Kaiba could even think to. She dragged him into the darkened theater where the film was indeed about to start and went up into the corner furthest away from the few other patrons who were here to watch the movie – or make out, whatever the case may be.

Kaiba watched with some detachment as Anzu obviously struggled to get herself back under control. "What was all that about," he asked lowly as the film actually started.

"Makoto..." Anzu began shakily, then she gathered herself up and spoke again. "Makoto and I went to the same school together when we were younger," she explained. "She had a reputation for always getting what she wanted because her dad owns a few businesses around here and she used that influence shamelessly."

"So I take it that she thinks you crossed her?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes," Anzu nodded. "We both entered a dancing competition, but when it became clear that I was a much better dancer than she was, she changed. She claimed that I had somehow cheated and she spread enough lies and rumours that the whole school turned against me." She bowed her head as she continued. "I was so happy when we moved to Domino because it meant that I could leave her behind and start again." She looked up at Kaiba to gauge his reaction to the next part. "That's why I picked up with Yugi and later, the others. From everything I've experienced, boys are far less likely to stab their friends in the back than girls are. It just feels..." she shrugged, "safer."

Kaiba considered this. If only she knew what she was getting into with him. She may never trust again after what he had planned. This thought actually gave him a little pang, but he squashed it. It was in order to win the game, after all.

"I understand," he said simply, whilst making a mental note to do a background check on this 'Makoto' and her father to see what sort of businesses he owned.

"Thank you Seth," she said, relieved that he hadn't made fun of her for her past misfortunes.

"Still, it makes me wonder if perhaps you needed a disguise more than I did," he quipped, giving her a gentle smile to take any sting out of his words.

"Maybe next time," Anzu said with a blush, turning back to watch the movie. She supposed that running into Makoto hadn't been so bad with Seto there to back her up.

Perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N**- What? Chapter 2 already? That was quick!

Well, I have been enjoying editing this so far and I'm trying not to over think things too much because I can tend to get bogged down with minutiae which can totally ruin the flow.

Thanks for reading. :)


	3. Chapter 3

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Once again, thank you for the reviews and alerts. They always make my day. :-)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

A couple of hours later, Kaiba and Anzu walked out of the movie theater, Anzu looking most apologetic. "I'm sorry I made you watch that movie," she said contritely as she walked out beside him. "It really was awful."

"Don't worry about it," Kaiba said reasonably. "I know that you needed to get away at that moment and the movie was so bad that it was actually funny so it wasn't really a hardship."

"I suppose if you look at it like that, it was kind of amusing," Anzu agreed with a smile.

"That's more like it," Kaiba said. "So... what do you think we should do now?"

Anzu was about to answer, but she was cut off as Makoto called out to them.

"I challenge you, Anzu Mazaki," she shouted, a malicious grin on her face.

"Oh really?" Anzu said. "Well, I'm afraid that I must decline." She shrugged her shoulders and made to walk away.

"I never pegged you as a coward, Mazaki," Makoto sneered as her posse jeered. "I challenge you to a dance off – unless, of course, you don't think you have what it takes to beat me."

Anzu made to walk on, but Seto caught her arm. "Are you going to let her belittle you like that?" he asked. Don't stop on my account, accept the challenge."

"But it's probably some kind of trap," Anzu said, "and I don't want to let her get to me again."

"Don't worry about that," Kaiba said. "I won't let anything happen and if she does try anything..." he tailed off, but Anzu got the message.

"If you're sure..." she said uncertainly.

"I am," he replied with his usual confidence.

"Fine," Anzu said. She turned to Makoto, a new determination in her eyes, "I accept your challenge."

"Good," Makoto said gleefully, causing Kaiba to narrow his eyes at her again. "Come along then. You can bring your nerdy boyfriend too."

"Don't worry," Kaiba growled, "I wouldn't miss it." He put his hand on Anzu's back as he walked with her to the machine where Makoto was waiting, giving her support without saying a word. "What are the terms of the duel?" Kaiba demanded, eyeing Makoto with suspicion as she stood on the gaming platform with a look of superiority on her face.

"A duel?" Makoto laughed, "How quaint." She gave Anzu a totally disparaging look. "Don't tell me that you've managed to pick up yet another little boy that plays that pathetic card game?"

Anzu felt Kaiba tense beside her so she knew that she had to talk fast. "You are only calling it pathetic because you wouldn't have a hope of winning at that game even if your daddy were to buy you the very best cards in existence," she said, just as nastily as Makoto.

Makoto's expression turned murderous. "No terms," she snapped waspishly. "I just want to prove once and for all that I can beat Mazaki at her own game." She glared at Anzu, "Now get up here unless you are chicken."

Anzu shucked off her jacket, handing that and her purse to Kaiba. "Keep these safe for me please, Seth," she said, noting with some satisfaction that both Makoto's and her companion's faces darkened. They had obviously planned to tamper with or outright steal her things, but by passing them to Kaiba to hold for her, she had pretty much negated that threat. She wouldn't put it past them to try and distract Kaiba and do something anyway, but a quick glance at Kaiba reassured her that he had also noticed and would be on guard. She wasn't surprised. It was part of his job as a businessman to be observant of people after all.

She stepped up to the platform with her head held high. "I'll let you choose the song and settings," Anzu said before Makoto could say a word. "I wouldn't like you to accuse me of tampering so I will leave it all to you." Once again Makoto's features darkened as if that were exactly what she had expected to be able to do.

"Fine," Makoto snapped, picking the hardest song with the most ruthless settings, "but I'll warn you that I have been practicing." She regarded Anzu with confidence. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll see," Anzu said challengingly, holding her head high. "Now dance!"

The music started, both girls tensed as the arrows began to appear on the screen, then they were off. Kaiba watched with a detached air as the 'duel', for that was what was happening here even if that harpy tried to deny it, progressed. Makoto was good, he thought grudgingly, very good even, but even he could see that Anzu was far better. He could also tell that Makoto had obviously had to practice for many many hours to come this far, but Anzu possessed a natural talent that simply blew that out of the water and whilst Makoto was having to make a real effort to keep up and make every step Anzu flowed with poise and grace. It was completely obvious, even at this early stage, as to who would be the victor.

He absently wondered how someone could go to such effort just to beat someone who possessed a natural talent like that. But then he mentally face palmed as he thought about how he'd practiced strategies and scenarios over and over for hours on end as he tried to beat Yugi at Duel monsters. Yes, he did have an innate talent for duel monsters himself, but it was nothing compared to Yugi's natural instinct for the game.

He considered how Makoto was coming across as extremely bitter over her lack of talent when compared to Anzu's. Could that be how other people saw his continual challenges to Yugi? Should he let it bother him or try to do something about it? It was something for him to think about in any case, even though he couldn't help but wonder why he was worrying about it now when he had never cared before.

That train of thought was abruptly derailed as he caught a movement from the corner of his eye and he turned to find one of Makoto's cohorts approaching in what she thought was a stealthy way. Such tactics might have worked on someone like the Mutt, but he was Seto Kaiba, someone who had to have his wits about him at all times lest someone who wished him harm were to manage to get the drop on him.

"What do you want?" he growled lowly, not wanting to disturb the dueling girls on the platform. Despite the quietness of his challenge, the girl blanched at the murderous look on his face, stuttered a denial and slunk back off to her friends. He noted that she frantically shook her head as they interrogated her and he surmised that she was telling the others that it was pointless to try and get close to him. Good. He would still keep them on his radar, but he mentally dismissed them as a thread as he turned back to watch the duel.

Anzu was still showing a perfect score, keeping up with the game with style and grace, but Makoto, little by little, was losing it. A point here, a stumble there whilst Anzu continued to sail through with confidence and aplomb.

Then it happened. Obviously unable to take the fact that she was losing, Makoto suddenly screamed and fell to the floor. "She tripped me," Makoto wailed, obviously putting it on. "She cheated!"

Anzu stuttered to a stop and stood there utterly dumbfounded for a moment. "I did no such thing!" she declared. "I was winning. I did not need to cheat."

"No, no, no!" Makoto wailed as her friends hurriedly surrounded her, putting on the histrionics as the arcade security ran towards them. "She cheated! She cheated!"

"She most certainly did not," Seto said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "Anzu did not go anywhere near her."

"She did," one of the group spoke up. "She pushed her over and everyone knows that Anzu Mazaki is a dirty rotten cheat anyway."

"I'm very sorry, but you will have to leave," the security man said, although it was patently obvious that he was anything but sorry. He grabbed Anzu roughly by the arm. "We don't take kindly to cheats around these parts."

"She did not cheat," Seto spoke up. "I am sure that if you care to check the CCTV..."

"Are you trying to tell us how to do our jobs?" the second security guard said as he dragged Anzu to the door. "Now get out, the pair of you. And you are both permanently barred."

Seto was about to explode, to let these cretins know exactly who they were dealing with, but once he saw the stricken look on Anzu's face he decided that he could deal with this later, once he had done some research and found out what was really going on behind the scenes.

"Fine," he said coldly, "but you will regret this. I'll make sure of it." He ignored the jeering guards as he put his arm around Anzu, guiding her from the arcade. He stayed quiet in order to let her get herself back under control as he walked them back to his car.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba," she said morosely, looking down at her lap as he joined her inside the vehicle. "This hasn't been a very good experience, has it?"

"It wasn't so bad," Kaiba said, "and I did encourage you to take that challenge after all, but we should not have been thrown out like that. Their security was way out of line and a variable I had not taken into account."

Anzu sighed. "I should have told you," she began, "Makoto's father owns several arcades as well as other businesses around this town. Makoto pretty much gets free rein to do what she wants as no-one wants to upset her father and he tends to turn a blind eye to what she gets up to." Her expression turned bitter. "She really is daddy's little princess that can do no wrong."

"I see..." Kaiba mused. He started the car and drove out of the car park, taking a good look at the arcade they had just been ejected from as they drove past. He wasn't surprised to see Makoto and her cohorts laughing and giving each other high fives as they congratulated each other. "I can tell you this much," he continued coldly, "she has messed with the wrong man this time."

"What are you going to do?" Anzu asked. "Just... don't feel that you have to trouble yourself on my account."

"I'm not doing it for you," Kaiba said, then he quickly reconsidered that, "not completely anyway." He shook his head. "No, whilst we were in there I noticed that many of their machines are licensed from Kaiba Corporation. If there is behaviour like that carrying on in their arcades without recourse, then it is likely to reflect badly on Kaiba Corporation so I shall have no choice but to withdraw the licenses and terminate the contracts. It's as simple as that." He glanced over at Anzu, a more gentle look upon his face. "And I can't let her get away with what she has done to you." He paused for effect. "Would a friend do any less?"

A brilliant smile lit up Anzu's face. "Thank you Kaiba," she said gratefully.

Kaiba felt his stomach give a little flip. "It's nothing Mazaki," he said, aware that a blush was staining his cheeks. He hoped that it was dark enough that she wouldn't notice.

"Just... don't completely destroy him if you don't have to, OK?" Anzu asked. He nodded and she stayed silent for the rest of the trip, knowing that he was likely to be feeling a touch uncomfortable and not wanting to push things too far too fast. That he was prepared to go out of his way to defend her like that was a huge step forwards and she didn't want to spoil it.

Soon they pulled up outside Anzu's house. "Thank you for this evening, Kaiba," she said. "I'm still sorry that it didn't go all that well..."

"Nonsense," Seto cut her off. "It was fine. In fact... I even had some fun."

Anzu got out of the car and went to the back to retrieve the bags she had taken to the Kaiba Manor earlier. "Good night, Kaiba," she said, turning to walk away.

"Wait a moment, Mazaki," he called after her, causing her to pause and turn back.

"What is it?" she asked, a small blush gracing her features.

"You forgot these," he said, removing the fake glasses and holding them out to her.

"Keep them," she said with a smile. "You might be able to use them in future."

"Thank you Anzu," he said, putting the glasses into his pocket, then he put the car into gear, "and goodnight." He pulled away from the kerb, smirking as he looked in the rear view mirror, noting that she was looking after the car as he drove away.

The plan would very much appear to be working. He was getting her to trust him and her 'childhood friend' had come in very handy tonight. Makoto had enabled him to show Anzu that he cared and that he was willing to stand up for her.

Still, finding out that such shenanigans were going on at Kaiba licensed arcades was very much not on. Kaiba licensed premises were expected to keep to a strict code of conduct and if one 'daddy's little princess' was stomping all over that then he had a duty of care to put it right.

And as usual, he would take great pleasure in it.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

And so it was the next day that Kaiba took time out of his busy schedule to personally head to the arcade that he had visited the night before in order to oversee the removal of the Kaiba Corporation licenses and games from the establishment. There was quite a crowd gathered seeing as it was a Sunday, all the kids in town being free to watch the proceedings. There were mutterings that it had only been a matter of time before someone reported them and that Makoto and her cronies often made it a trial to want to play in the arcade. Kaiba let such talk wash over him, although it did reinforce his conviction him that he was completely in the right.

It didn't take long for the owner to arrive, swaggering like he owned the place, which in fact he did, but crucially he did not own the licenses to the games.

"Someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" the man bellowed as the machines and merchandise were being loaded onto the back of the Kaiba Corporation lorries.

"Ah, Mr. Tsuya I presume," a lawyer in Seto's employ approached the man. "I hereby serve you with these papers terminating the contract with Kaiba corporation."

"What? But... you can't come and take these games away without good reason," he protested.

"Oh, but I do have a good reason," Kaiba interjected from across the room, causing Tsuya to blanch as he realised that Seto Kaiba himself was here to oversee the procedure.

"The reasons are listed on these papers," the lawyer insisted. "You will find that everything is in good order."

"But.." the man seemed to be at a total loss, so Kaiba moved in. He would enjoy this.

"You will find that, in the contract you signed when you leased the games from Kaiba Corporation, there is a clause stating that the support of Kaiba Corporation could be withdrawn without penalty to Kaiba Corporation if there were any activity within the establishment that may bring Kaiba Corporation into disrepute."

"But we haven't DONE anything to bring your precious corporation into disrepute," Mr Tsuya protested, "so you can unload them games and put them back in the arcade."

"I think not," Kaiba said, eyeing the man coldly. "After all, your daughter called out another girl for cheating and used her position _as_your daughter to ensure that your security would not listen to the other side of the story. Humiliating your patrons and having them thrown out for no good reason is hardly the association I wish for Kaiba Corporation and to sit and do nothing would be to condone that behaviour, so I am sure that you can understand my position."

"But my girl wouldn't do that..." Mr Tsuya said.

"Your daughter is one Makoto Tsuya, yes?" Kaiba asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, yes," Tsuya confirmed.

"Then I'm very much afraid that she did do exactly that. Your CCTV should confirm this." Kaiba gave the man a cold look, "That is assuming that it is actually operating as it should and has not been tampered with. Something that would also result in breach of contract."

"I guess we shall just have to see, won't we," Mr. Tsuya said, a belligerent jut to his jaw. "I am sure that the CCTV footage will show that my daughter did no such thing and then I shall demand an apology and compensation from you."

Kaiba followed the man into the empty looking arcade, bringing his own security with him. He knew better than to take the risk of entering such premises on his own.

"Daddy?" a worried sounding girl's voice drew the attention of both Kaiba and Mr. Tsuya. "What's going on, daddy?"

"We are about to find out," Mr Tsuya said grimly. "But before we do... what do you know about what Mr. Kaiba here said about you accusing a girl of cheating you and then having her thrown out?"

"N... nothing," Makoto said, paling considerably. Seto smirked with satisfaction as the girl spluttered her obvious lie, clearly discomfited as she had thought she would not get caught. But then she hadn't reckoned with Seto Kaiba. It really couldn't have worked out better as he had been hoping that the harpy that had caused all the trouble would be here to witness this. He had been rather disappointed when she had not been on site to start with.

"Really?" he drawled, "Because I happen to know for a fact that you harassed one Anzu Mazaki, challenged her to a dance off, then after she accepted your challenge and was actually beating you fair and square you threw yourself to the floor, accused her of pushing her over and used your position as the owner's daughter to have her thrown out without recourse." Kaiba was careful not to use the word 'duel', as if he did then she would no doubt lose the confused look she wore when she glanced at him. He wasn't quite ready for her to realise who he had been last night just yet.

"That's not true!" Makoto protested.

"Well we shall see," Kaiba said coldly. "The CCTV room if you please, Mr Tsuya." Kaiba followed the man and his daughter into the room knowing that he would either have them over what had happened the previous night or over the CCTV having been tampered with. It was a win-win situation as far as he was concerned.

There were two security men already in the room, so with the Tsuyas plus Seto and his own security, it was a bit of a squeeze.

"Chiba," Tsuya barked once everyone was comfortably in the small room, "Mr. Kaiba here would like to see the CCTV from last night." He looked over at Kaiba. "What time do you need to see?"

"9.25 pm," Kaiba said with no hesitation whatsoever.

"You heard the man," Tsuya said sharply. "Show the video."

The two security men looked at each other worriedly, something that wasn't lost on Kaiba at all, then they dutifully ran the recording starting at just after 9.20 pm. The video clearly showed Anzu and Seth leaving the movie theater across the way at 9.22, then the video went blank. The security man called Chiba frantically pressed buttons and flicked switches, but the video feed resolutely failed to come back, only mysteriously restoring itself after Seth and Anzu had left the building at 9.42 pm.

"I'm sorry sir," Chiba said, sweating lightly, "the video feed seems to have been cut at that time and nothing has recorded."

"So the CCTV _has _been tampered with," Kaiba said coldly, glaring at Makoto.

"So what?" Makoto said with new confidence. "If there is no evidence..."

"Ah, but that is why Kaiba corporation insists on a clause where a certain level of CCTV system must be installed and maintained well," he looked coldly a the girl who had caused all their trouble. "Kaiba corporation understands the need for children to feel safe when they visit arcades affiliated with our name. If CCTV mysteriously cuts out or is otherwise tampered with, especially when it should have recorded evidence of a wrongdoing that is in need of investigating, then that safety is considered to have been compromised and as such is grounds for our licenses to be revoked without appeal."

"Mr. Kaiba," Tsuya was sweating now, realising that Kaiba well and truly had him on the ropes, "surely you can find it within yourself to reconsider. My family..."

"Your family didn't seem to care how she acted last night," Seto pointed out as he glared at Makoto," and as her father, you should have ensured that this kind of thing could never become an issue."

"Now hang on a minute," Makoto spoke up, "I resent the implication that I would do anything that would endanger my father's business. How could you possibly know what happened if the evidence has been deleted?"

"You don't need to know except that I have my sources," Seto said, eyes narrowing again.

"Bull!" Makoto exclaimed, ignoring her father's frantic gestures to stop. "I bet that Mazaki girl went crying to you, didn't she, the lying little cow." She looked up at Seto with a 'poor me' air. "She's always had it in for me."

"Really?" Kaiba said, crossing his arms and looking down on the other with utter contempt. "I happen to know Anzu Mazaki personally and I know for a fact that she is a woman of impeccable character. I also know that she would never stoop to cheating and she most certainly did not cheat last night." He decided it was time to drop the bombshell and see if she would finally get it. "After all, I saw the events of last night with my own eyes."

Makoto looked at him with shock, then paled sharply. Seto couldn't contain a smirk. It would seem that the penny had finally dropped.

"You... you're the guy she was with last night," she whispered, unable to raise her voice any further.

Kaiba did not confirm or deny, but stood there and looked at her with a dispassionate air before turning back to her father. "So, Mr. Tsuya, I'm sure that you can understand my position on this matter."

"Yes, I can," Tsuya said sternly. "Makoto, go home. I shall deal with you later." He paused. "And you will send a handwritten letter to Miss Mazaki apologising for targeting her in such a manner."

Makoto momentarily looked as though she were about to protest, but then clearly thought better of it, nodded and walked out with a heavily subdued air about her.

"I am very sorry Mr. Kaiba," Tsuya said. "I know that what my daughter has done is inexcusable, but is there any way that I can change your mind about removing the licenses?"

Kaiba stood silently for several long moments, appearing to be mulling it over. To be honest he had already made his mind up to let this pass, not only because he had got what he wanted out of this little endeavour, that being to humiliate Makoto like she had humiliated Anzu, but because Anzu had asked him to be lenient. "I _could_ reconsider," he said thoughtfully, "but I want your daughter to make a full apology to Miss Mazaki, not just for what happened last night, but for what happened between them when they went to school together."

"Yes, I shall take her in hand and see that it is done," Tsuya said. "I can only apologise for my daughter's behaviour," he shook his head, "I always told her that she should not use her position to manipulate people and get her own way, but it seems that she will have to be reminded again." He gave a wan smile. "Kids can be like that, but then I'm sure that you will find that out for yourself one day."

Kaiba simply nodded but said nothing. To be brutally honest he didn't see himself ever being in a position to be able to find out. There were too many people out there who would take him for whatever they could get and finding the right person amongst all the hyenas out there would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He had long since come to the conclusion that he would be better off avoiding that kind of commitment.

He turned to walk from the room. "The games will be returned to your premises," Kaiba said, then he turned and gave Tsuya a long, cold look. "I suggest that you familiarise both yourself and your staff of the exact conditions included in the licensing agreement as if they are broken again in any way, shape or form I shall not only ensure that every last license is removed, but I shall destroy your reputation beyond repair. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," Tsuya said, relieved that he appeared to have got out of this one relatively unscathed.

"Good," Kaiba said. "Oh, and one more thing for you to consider," he said as he turned his back. "The only reason I am being so lenient is because one Anzu Mazaki asked me to stay my hand if I could. You should consider yourself lucky that she has so much compassion." With that he walked from the room with his security in tow, leaving Tsuya to deal with the aftermath.

Tsuya watched the CEO of Kaiba Corporation leave with the expression of someone who knew that he'd just had a lucky escape. Yes, he may be a big fish in this town, but compared to Kaiba corporation he was nothing but a minnow, if that. Maybe more like plankton.

He left the office, gave instructions to the staff as to what was supposed to be done and left to go home. He would have stayed to oversee operations, but he had a daughter to deal with and to make sure that she would write that letter properly.

It would not do to upset Kaiba again after all.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N**- That's chapter 3 down. I'm going quite quickly at the moment, but I know that the later chapters will need a lot more editing so things will slow down.

The next chapter feels a bit awkward. I'll have to take another look at it before I post it here, but it may end up staying as it is.

Thank you for reading. :)


	4. Chapter 4

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

Feels a bit odd, but I was going cross eyed looking at it. So here it is. :)

Once again, thanks for the reviews and alerts. They always make me smile. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next morning, Kaiba arrived early to school as was usual for him as he liked to spend a quite few minutes attending to work matters before class started. However, he was surprised when he entered the classroom to find that Mazaki was already there, her face buried in a text book as she prepared for the class to come.

He smirked as he took in the fact that she was the only one there. Perfect. Now to enact the next phase of his plan, made all the easier by her making herself available like this.

"Mazaki," he said shortly, causing the girl in question to give a little jump.

"Oh, good morning, Kaiba," she said cheerily. "How are you today."

"Well, thank you," he said. "And you?" He waited for Anzu to reply with an affirmative before moving on to the nest phase. "Are you free on Saturday?" he asked.

"Well, yes, I am free after my morning dance class," she said. "Why? Are you asking me out?" she had a smile on her face that made it clear that she was joking.

"In a way," he said honestly. "There is a business function that I must attend on Saturday evening and the invitation said that I should bring a partner." He gave a wry smile. "I figured that I could kill two birds with one stone by taking a friend that would not be trying to use me for their own ends and to reciprocate for Saturday's... outing." He gave her a frank, but hopeful look. "It also doesn't hurt that you can dance well, so... what do you say?"

"I would be happy to do so," Anzu said, "but..."

"But?"

"Well, wouldn't I end up with my picture all over the papers?" she asked. "I thought that you wanted to keep this friendship between us private for now?"

"Yes, I do want it that way, at least for the near future," Kaiba said, "and thank you for understanding about that, but I do have a plan to negate that problem. That is... if you trust me?"

Anzu couldn't help but look somewhat sceptical for a moment, but then she smiled as she realised what it was that Kaiba was likely to be suggesting. "I trust you, Kaiba," she said, "and in that case I'll look forward to it."

Kaiba would have continued to arrange things there and then, but he was interrupted by some of the other students walking into the classroom. He smartly walked away from Anzu and sat down at his desk, opening his laptop and getting on with some work.

Yugi, closely followed by Jonouchi were the first to enter the classroom, Jonouchi making a bee line for Anzu's desk as he gave Kaiba the evil eye. "Oi! Anzu," he said, "Kaiba not givin' you any trouble is he?"

"No, not at all," Anzu said shortly. She sighed internally, knowing that if it weren't for Jonouchi's overprotective attitude towards Yugi she might have been able to persuade Kaiba to join the group without too much effort, even taking into account the fact that Yugi was in essence Kaiba's rival.

"Are you sure about that?" Jonouchi asked, still staring over towards Kaiba who was studiously ignoring the little group. "He was awful close to you."

"Jonouchi," Yugi said, "if Anzu says that Kaiba wasn't bothering her then we should take her word for it."

"Thank you, Yugi," Anzu said, shooting a pointed glare in Jonouchi's direction. "At least someone here trusts me."

"Ah, I'm sorry Anzu," Jonouchi said with a touch of contriteness, "I didn't mean to imply..."

"Everyone to your seats please," the teacher, Mr. Terada, said, cutting the group's conversation short. "Open your books to page 86."

Anzu let out a shallow sigh of relief as Jonouchi and Yugi had no choice but to go to their places and carry out the teacher's instruction. She hoped that Kaiba would feel ready to accept more people into his life before too long. Yes, she would respect what he wanted, but she hoped that he would understand that friends should not put those important to them in awkward positions. But then she wasn't completely sure that Kaiba would actually regard her as an important person if push came to shove. She would just have to continue to trust him for now and hope for the best.

She didn't have time to talk to Kaiba again that day, but as she was heading home, she found a small note left in her locker.

_"Anzu,"_ it said, _"if it is OK with you I will have you brought to my home at 3pm on Saturday so you can get ready for the function._

_"I look forward to seeing you then._

_Seto."_

Anzu blushed as she took in the fact that Kaiba had addressed her so personally, but she didn't have time to think about it as Jonouchi suddenly appeared at her shoulder.

"What you got there, Anzu?" he asked, attempting to snatch the paper out of her grasp, frowning as she pulled it out of his reach.

"Jonouchi, that's private," she said with some annoyance, "and friends don't snatch things like that." She glared at him, letting him know that she was not pleased.

"Sorry Anzu," he said in a semi-apologetic way, "Just curious, that's all."

"I would tell you what it was if it wasn't private," Anzu said. She looked at her watch. "Now I have to get going or I'll be late for my dance class." She waved as she left, "See you Jonouchi."

"See you tomorrow, Anzu," Jonouchi replied, watching as Anzu left the building. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was sure that _something_ was. His instincts rarely steered him wrong about that sort of thing and for all that Kaiba would call him a dog if he were ever to admit it within his hearing, those instincts of his had saved him on more than one occasion. He would still have to keep a close eye on whatever it was that was going on with Anzu. As Anzu was so fond of saying, that's what friends did for each other.

"Hey, Jonouchi, What's up?" Yugi asked as he arrived, accompanied by both Honda and Otogi.

"Oh, it's nothing," Jonouchi evaded. "So, what's the plan for tonight?" He asked by way of changing the subject. As things stood he only had vague feelings of suspicion, not enough to mention to anyone else at this point, so he would not say anything yet. He hoped that his unease would turn out to be unfounded because, as whatever might be going on involved Anzu, it had the potential to hurt Yugi and his small friend had been through more than enough already.

"Let's hit the arcade!" Honda exclaimed.

"Then we can head back to mine after that," Otogi said. "We can have a nice relaxing game of Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"In your dreams! Jonouchi laughed as they left. "That game is pants compared to Duel monsters."

"Be nice, Jonouchi," Yugi admonished his friend. "Dungeon Dice Monsters is a respectable enough game," he gave Otogi a cheeky look, "even if it is a blatant rip off of Duel Monsters."

"Hey!" Otogi yelled as the rest of the group ran out of the school grounds laughing. "Take that back!"

The conundrum of what was going on with Anzu was firmly put out of mind for now, but it would definitely bug Jonouchi until he worked it out.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

A couple of days later, Kaiba was once again sitting in the classroom doing some work for Kaiba Corporation whilst he waited for class to start, when Anzu burst into the classroom and made a bee line for him.

"Kaiba," she yelled exuberantly, causing the CEO to wince slightly. "Thank you!"

"Whatever for?" he asked, affecting his usual cool poise.

"I had a letter from Makoto this morning," Anzu enthused. "She apologised for everything she ever did to me, from what she caused in middle school to how she humiliated me last weekend and I know that you must have had something to do with it as she would never have done it otherwise."

"I... might have done something," Kaiba said coolly.

"What did you do?" Anzu asked, bursting with curiosity.

Kaiba couldn't help but feel irritated at Anzu's incessant questions, but then he realised that if he actually told her then she may come to trust him even more, especially as he had done exactly as she had asked and been 'lenient'. Also, in the event that she was upset with him for going 'too far', then he could allow her to 'educate' him.

"When Makoto did what she did, she caused a breach of a clause in the contract that licenses Kaiba Corporation games for use in those kinds of arcades. And if that weren't enough the security system had been tampered with so the proof of what had actually happened had been deleted." He shrugged, "I was going to have the contract revoked and have all the machines removed immediately, but I secured a promise from Makoto's father to take her in hand and to get her to write you a letter of apology. Not that I suppose it really makes up for what she did."

"No, especially as it was extracted under duress, but it might make her think twice before acting like that in future," Anzu said, "and that's pretty much all I can ask for." She looked troubled. "I still worry that it might have been too much. Threatening her whole family's livelihood..."

"As I said the other day, it wasn't just for you," Kaiba said, keeping his tone even so as not to give away his irritation – this was all for the game. "Kaiba Corporation has these clauses in place to help keep these locations a safe environment for children to go. If someone, especially someone attached to the owners of the facility, is engaging in that sort of bullying behaviour, it is not something that Kaiba Corporation can afford to ignore. That the security cameras were conveniently disabled to cover up that behaviour was inexcusable." He gave a very Kaiba like smirk, "In fact I think I let them off rather lightly, but that was only because you asked."

"Oh," Anzu was rather taken aback. "In that case I should thank you," she said. "As much as I dislike what Makoto has done to cause me grief, I wouldn't have liked for her whole family to suffer as a result."

"I thought as much," Kaiba admitted, "and that is one of the reasons that I was as lenient as I was." His expression hardened, "However, Kaiba Corporation will be keeping a very close eye on activities in the arcades and shops that Mr. Tsuya owns and if there is any breach of the conditions..." he trailed off as it were obvious what would happen if these people caused trouble again.

"I understand," Anzu said, "and thank you for taking my feelings into account. I know you didn't have to, after all."

"No, I didn't," Kaiba said bluntly. "and don't expect me to go out of my way like that every time someone upsets you."

"I won't," Anzu said, smiling as she turned away and went to sit at her own desk, knowing that the rest of the students would be arriving soon and she didn't need Jonouchi breathing down her neck again. Indeed, she had just got the relevant textbook out when Yugi and Jonouchi walked in, followed closely by Honda and Otogi. Jou gave a suspicious look both to Anzu and to Kaiba, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he went to sit at his desk whilst Yugi went over to speak to Anzu.

"Good morning, Anzu," Yugi said. "How are you today?"

"I'm feeling good today, thank you," she replied. "How are you holding up?"

"It's getting better," Yugi replied. "Um... Anzu?"

"Yes Yugi?" She asked.

"Are... are you free on Saturday night?" He had a pathetically hopeful look upon his face, so much so that Anzu felt guilty for turning him down. It really was for the best that she already had a 'date' on Saturday night or she may have been tempted to agree to go with him with him out of pity.

"I'm really sorry, Yugi," she said as gently as she could. "I have a prior arrangement for Saturday night."

"Oh, I see," Yugi said sadly, turning away. Anzu simply let him go, knowing that whatever she said now would only make the situation worse. She noted that Jonouchi was giving her the filthiest of filthy looks for upsetting Yugi, but surely he had to understand that she had a right to decide if she were to go out with someone or not? Yet so many people seemed to think that she should end up with Yugi by default, simply because he liked her, never mind that she had a mind and a choice of her own.

"Good morning students," Mr Terada said as he entered the room, effectively ending Anzu's thoughts on the matter. "Now if you would turn to page 109..."

The class dutifully did as they were told, but there was one student who was struggling to contain his glee. Seto Kaiba buried his face into his textbook as he struggled to suppress a triumphant smirk. Yugi had, in effect, asked Anzu out and had been turned down flat! And it hadn't escaped his notice that she had not offered a rain-check. He was certain that a few weeks ago she would have blown off their plans and accepted Yugi's invitation instead, but she had turned him down!

In his mind he had already won. It was just a matter of time until he could make Anzu his and he would finally be able to lord it over that shrimp! He couldn't wait!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Saturday afternoon rolled around and at 3pm sharp, Seto pulled up outside Anzu's house. He was gratified to see that she was already at the door as he walked up the path towards her home. "Good afternoon," Seto said cordially.

"Hello Kaiba," Anzu said. "Would you like to come in for a moment. I have a couple of things I need to finish up before we go."

"That will be fine," Seto said as he entered Anzu's home and she closed the door behind him. "We do have some time in hand after all."

Anzu beckoned him on and led him to the kitchen. Kaiba couldn't help but look around as he followed her. It was a nice home. You could tell that it was supposed to be a family abode, but that just begged the question. Where were her parents?

"Forgive me if I am speaking out of turn," he said, "but may I ask where your parents are? And do they know that I am here?"

A pained look crossed Anzu's features. Seto didn't like that. "My mother is... away on business," she said eventually.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Does that happen often?" he asked.

"Fairly," she hedged. "She is out of the country and she won't be back for at least another month, but," she brightened, although to Seto's eyes it did look kind of fake, "she trusts me and I am old enough to look after myself, so it isn't so bad."

"I see," Kaiba mused, noting that she had not mentioned her father, but he decided that it would not be a wise move to mention that right now.

"Would you like a coffee while you wait?" she asked, breaking the awkward moment of silence.

"Thank you, that would be wonderful," Seto said. He sat at the table and watched as Anzu moved to prepare the beverage, almost mesmerised as she moved around the kitchen, grace and fluidity in every movement. But was that seemingly innate grace what made her a dancer, or was it a result of actually being a dancer? It was quite the conundrum and one he wasn't likely to get an answer to any time soon.

He was brought out of his introspection as she placed a cup down on a coaster in front of him. "Thank you," he said. He picked up the cup and took a hesitant sip.

"Is it alright?" she asked nervously as she sat opposite him.

"How did you know how I like to take it?" he asked with some surprise. He had almost expected to either have to choke it down or ask her to remake it, but she had prepared it absolutely perfectly and he wasn't prepared to put that down to just some fluke.

"Oh, I remembered from when we met in the ship's kitchen on the way home from..." she tailed off and looked out of the kitchen window with a melancholy air.

Kaiba watched her with a critical eye. It would seem that she still wasn't over that damned Pharaoh, but then he had to remember that it had only been a scant few weeks since he had gone away and if she had been as hung up on him as he suspected, then it would likely take a while longer before she was ready to move on. Still, he would not let that derail his plan. He would manage to seduce this girl then he would truly be able to say that he had beaten Yugi at something, yet he still knew that he had to tread carefully.

"I take it that you still miss him?" Kaiba asked, struggling to keep the contempt out of his voice.

"Yes, I do," Anzu admitted frankly "I do know that he is back where he belongs, but he was a... very dear friend to me, well, to all of us really." She sighed, "But the fact we will never see him again is... hard to take."

"I understand," Kaiba said gently. He sipped at his coffee and decided that it would be for the best if he changed the subject as he knew that he couldn't say anything about the Pharaoh that would make Anzu feel any better at the moment and he would rather not think about his own... past. "So, you remembered how I liked my coffee from having seen me make it only once?" he asked with a smile. "I'm impressed."

"Oh, it's nothing really," Anzu demurred, a small bush upon her cheeks. "I make it a habit to remember such things when they pertain to my friends likes and dislikes."

"But we weren't friends at that time." Kaiba said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know," Anzu said, inclining her head as she acknowledged his point, "but you had already asked me to help you learn how to be friends and I already considered you as a friend at that time even if the sentiment wasn't returned." Speaking of which, she gave him a quizzical look. "So, how has it been for you so far?"

He took a sip of his coffee whilst he thought about how he should answer. "It's been... interesting," he said after a moment.

"Not... bad?" she asked.

"No, not bad," Kaiba replied. "Last weekend was certainly very interesting and I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it, terrible film and all."

Anzu laughed, "It was pretty bad, wasn't it?" she said with a smile. "It makes me wonder if the first part was any better."

"Whatever, I very much doubt that they'll be making a third part," Kaiba said with a wry smile.

"Oh heavens, I hope not!" Anzu exclaimed, laughing once again. Kaiba couldn't help but smile in return as a smiling Anzu was much preferable to a melancholy one.

"So, Kaiba," she asked, calling his attention back to matters at hand, "how long do you think it will be until you can let the rest of the group in?"

Kaiba sobered instantly. He had hoped that she would not bring that up just yet, but given that Anzu was in essence 'little miss friendship', then it wasn't really a surprise. "I'm not sure that it is a good idea yet," he replied, "and I'm pretty sure that... certain members of your group will never accept me anyway."

"You mean Jonouchi, right?" Anzu asked. "Well, I have to admit that he is very protective of Yugi and his Grandfather. I won't go into Jonouchi's home situation, but Yugi's Grandfather is more of a parent to him than his own father and after what you did to him..."

"Ah, yes," Kaiba said soberly, recalling how the elder Mutou had ended up in hospital after he had ripped up the fourth Blue Eyes card and forced him to duel, "and I suppose it doesn't help that I never really apologised."

"That is part of it, yes," Anzu said. "I know that you were... a different person back then, but some things are not so easily forgiven. Having said that, you know as well as I do that Yugi has a big heart and will forgive almost anything. Jonouchi will follow him eventually, I'm sure."

Seto sighed theatrically. "Yes, I gathered that much," he said. "but I doubt that's all that's behind it and I can't bring myself to get on with the mutt so easily, even in the event that he would allow it to happen. And of course, that's not even taking into account the rest of them. Honda will follow Jonouchi, I'm sure," monkey see monkey do was running through his mind as he said that, "but Otogi..." he shook his head, "Otogi is a business rival. I couldn't trust him at all."

"That's fine" Anzu said as she reached across the table and covered Kaiba's large hand with her own dainty one. "This is about what you want after all and," she took a deep breath, "if you come to the conclusion that you could only ever be friends with me, I think I could live with that and I won't push it."

Kaiba stared at their joined hands with some surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to touch him like that. It felt nice, but there was something he needed to ask. "Won't your other friends cause you trouble for something like that? As much as I am... enjoying having someone other than Mokuba to associate with, I wouldn't want to cause a rift in your group." Kaiba, of course, knew that this was a bare faced lie. There was nothing he would like better than to split up Yugi's little group and have the friendship fusion disband. However, there was a small voice deep inside telling him that he was wrong, that he really didn't want to cause trouble for this girl that thought she was actually helping him.

"I'm sure it won't come to that," she said, although she did sound unsure, "but if they are truly my friends they will understand and not make me choose." She looked over at the clock and gasped. They had been talking for well over half an hour. Where had the time gone? "Oh, I still have those few things to finish," she said, standing abruptly. "I'm sorry, I'll only be a few minutes." She left the room then, leaving Kaiba to his thoughts.

The fact that there were no parents in the picture to complicate matters was, in his opinion, a good thing, at least when it came to his seduction of Anzu and the winning of the game. However, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the obviously lonely girl. From what she had said earlier, it sounded like she had been on her own for quite some time, something he should look into later.

Anzu was good to her word and ten minutes later appeared back in in the room. "OK, all done," she said as she took Kaiba's now empty mug and rinsed it. She could wash it properly later. "Is there anything I should bring?" she asked.

"No, just yourself will be fine," Kaiba said as he stood. "I have everything you will need at the mansion." He followed her from the house, waited for her to close and lock the door, then escorted her to the car.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Once the car was on the move, Anzu felt that she had to speak. "What time does this function actually start?" she asked.

"It starts at seven tonight," Kaiba replied, watching the road carefully as he drove them on their way.

"Really?" Anzu was surprised. "Then isn't it just a touch early to be getting ready?"

"Not really," Kaiba said. "We have to make sure that you are absolutely stunning before we go," he smiled, "not that you're not already stunning," he said.

Anzu gasped and blushed, something that Kaiba definitely took as an encouraging sign. "Flatterer," she murmured, a smile upon her face.

"And it will take at least an hour for us to get there, so it will be essential for us to get an early start and have some extra time available in case of any issues that may arise between now and then." He paused a moment, then continued. "But even so, I'll be glad to be able to spend a little more time with my... friend."

Soon they arrived at the mansion and Kaiba escorted her inside. It didn't have quite such an impact on her this time as she had seen it before, but she still made sure not to gawp at all the interesting things and expensive décor. She was absolutely certain that, friend or not, it would not be appreciated.

He turned to her at the bottom of the stairs. "So, shall we get started?" he asked. "I know that girls can take an inordinate amount of time to get ready."

"Your education hasn't been totally lacking then," Anzu said with a smile. "Lead on." She followed Kaiba up the stairs and to his room, making it the second time that she had been there. "So, what first?" she asked.

"First I would like for you to try on the dress I have selected for you," he said as he opened the wardrobe door, heading inside and bringing out a dress that caused her to gasp out loud. It was a stunning creation, flowing off white with accents of shimmering blue. For all that it was typical that he would go for those particular colours, the dress was obviously very expensive and she knew that it would be a dream to wear it – as long as it fit, anyway. "Hang on a minute," she said, a frown crossing her features, "how are you sure that it will fit?"

"I had it specially commissioned for you," Kaiba informed her, "So I can guarantee that it will fit you properly."

"But... how did you get my measurements?"

Kaiba had the grace to look a little sheepish. "I hacked into the school records," he admitted. "There was that medical day a few weeks ago and so I knew that those measurements would be accurate enough for this." He paused as he took in Anzu's outraged expression. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked. Of course, he knew that it wasn't really the done thing, but he also knew that if he played it right he could pass it off as social ignorance and Anzu would eat it up.

"Yes, you did," she said, struggling to contain her exasperation. "Why didn't you just ask me?"

"I was going to, but whenever I tried to get close to you, some of your friends were hanging around so I couldn't," he explained. "I wasn't about to leave a note after Jonouchi nearly took the last one off you," he shrugged, "then I hit the time limit for the dress to be ready on time and I had to act."

"Oh," Anzu said, slightly taken aback - and surprised that he knew about what Jonouchi had done. "But why didn't you call and ask me?"

"I have been... rather busy this week," Kaiba said, "I did try to call before the deadline, but there was no answer."

"OK, in that case, I forgive you," she smiled, then her expression became stern. "But please try to ensure that you make more of an effort to ask me about such things in the future. Hacking my records is quite a breach of privacy and can raise issues of trust."

"Understood," Kaiba said, surprised that he felt so relieved to have her forgiveness. He shook it off. "Now, the dress..."

"Oh, of course," she said, taking the garment. "Where shall I change?"

"Use the bathroom," Kaiba said, "unless you would prefer that I leave while you change in here?"

"No, the bathroom will be fine," Anzu said, crossing to the door that she remembered Kaiba fetching his hairbrush from the previous time she was here. "I'll be back in a minute."

Seto stood and waited semi patiently. He knew that Anzu would look absolutely amazing in that dress. It was deceptively plain looking, but once she had it on...

"You could have sat down, you know," Anzu said in amusement as she returned, causing Kaiba to spin around. When he saw her, his eyes went wide with surprise. The dress was even more stunning on her that he had expected, the light blue accents highlighting her eyes and the creamy material making her skin seem to glow. She was a vision of loveliness and he could not help but appreciate her stunning form.

"Well," Anzu said as he remained silent for several long moments, "what do you think?" She gave a twirl, showing off how the dress clung to her figure and Kaiba had to suppress a gasp.

"You look just as lovely as I thought you would," he said, trying not to betray too much emotion. Since she had come into the room he had gone to pieces and he was determined to retain control. Despite this he crossed to where she was. "You will be the most beautiful girl there, but we are not done yet."

"We're not?" Anzu asked, even as she blushed at Kaiba's praise.

"No," he said. "First you need the matching shoes." He passed them over and waited for Anzu to put them on. "And finally, if you turn around..." he waited for her to do so, then reached into a box on the side table, "something to set off the whole ensemble."

Anzu gasped as Seto came up close behind her, then her eyes widened as she realised that Kaiba was placing a necklace upon her.

"This is just for tonight," he said as she gaped at herself in the mirror.

"But they must be..." she tailed off as she took in the shimmering diamonds and sapphires that made up the piece.

"Worth a fortune?" he asked with a quirk of his eyebrows. "But of course. Nothing less would be fitting for the companion of Seto Kaiba." The smirk was there in full force as he said that last. "You do have pierced ears don't you?" he asked, serious again.

"Y... yes," she said, paling slightly as the matching earrings were passed over. "Are you sure about this?" She asked as she shakily put them in. "If they are worth so much..."

"Don't worry," he said, taking her free hand once she was done with the earrings and looking her in the eyes. "This kind of... opulence... is expected at this kind of function." He took advantage of her distraction to place the matching bracelet upon her wrist. "There will be plenty of of security and I have more than adequate insurance." He could see that Anzu was wavering and he worried that she may still refuse to wear them so he went in for the kill, "Besides, they make you look even more lovely and I'm sure that everyone there will have their eyes on you."

Anzu relaxed and smiled. "Thank you, Kaiba," she said, looking in the mirror and admiring how the jewels complimented her outfit, then she frowned. "But how are we going to get around the fact that everyone will recognise me?"

"I do have a solution" Kaiba said, "if you are amenable to the idea of course." He picked up a bag which turned out to contain a long, blonde wig. "This, I trust, should disguise you adequately." He waited expectantly for her answer.

"You know what, Kaiba? That is actually a good idea," Anzu said with a smile.

"Good," Kaiba said with some satisfaction. "Not that I would be ashamed to take you out as you are, but..."

"The chaos that would ensue would be SO not worth it," Anzu said with a sigh, "and I already said that whatever was that was best for you would be fine."

"Thank you," he said. "Now, do you need help with the wig?"

"No, I should be OK," Anzu replied. "I've had to do this before after all."

"Oh?" Kaiba's eyebrow raised.

"I was in the amateur dramatics club at school," she said. "I had to do it for them."

"I see," Kaiba said, watching as Anzu made short work of putting a hair net on, then putting the wig in place.

"There," she said once the wig was secured to her satisfaction.

"I'm sure that no-one will recognise you wearing that," Kaiba said with confidence, "But one final touch?" He handed her a small case which she opened to reveal a dainty pair of glasses.

Anzu smiled with genuine amusement. "This is revenge for making you wear those awful glasses I got from the Amateur Dramatics club's props bin, isn't it?" She shook her head. "I'll wear them, but I will need to do my make up first." Her face fell, "Except that I don't have any with me."

"I told you that I would have everything that you needed right here," Kaiba said, picking up yet another bag and passing it over to Anzu. "this bag contains a large selection of the top of the range cosmetics," he smiled, "and you may keep them."

Anzu blinked then opened the bag and looked inside. She gasped. "Kaiba, this must have cost a fortune," she said. "I can't accept it, really."

"You can," he replied warmly. "Consider it a thank you for what you are doing for me."

"But I haven't really done anything," she protested.

"Firstly, you have agreed to help me without asking anything in return, which is more than can be said for most." He didn't need to elaborate on that as she would know exactly what he meant. "Secondly," he looked deeply into her eyes, showing his sincerity, "by agreeing to go with me tonight, by masquerading as my... date, you have helped to save me from all the harpies that think they can bag themselves a rich husband. I thank you for that as it can be quite... troublesome."

Anzu became slightly flustered, his proximity doing funny things to her stomach, but then he stepped away and looked at his watch.

"The limousine will be ready to take us shortly, so you should use the remaining time to make sure that you are completely ready. I shall get changed myself and I shall be with you shortly." he went to the large, walk in wardrobe, leaving Anzu to her own devices, although she was glad of the time to get herself back under control. Kaiba had been more... intense than she had imagined and the way he was acting was almost as if he were treating it like a real date instead of the masquerade he had mentioned before.

She adjourned to the bathroom, crossing to the mirror then quickly and expertly applying the make up. She took one final deep breath, then put the glasses on and actually looked at herself, regarding the changes in the mirror. She really did not look anything like herself and she was completely sure that, barring some catastrophe, none of her friends could possibly recognise her.

As much as she wanted to bring Kaiba into their group, a mishap like that would cause so much trouble that any more progress could take months, especially with how the hotheads Jonouchi and Honda would react. Of course, she knew that they would only have her best interests at heart, but Jonouchi's dislike of Kaiba could override what common sense he had all too easily, something that happened with alarming regularity.

Jonouchi would also be pissed off on behalf of Yugi and although she was sure that Yugi would understand, nay, even approve of her motives, the arguments and recriminations had the potential to be more than she could take and may even split the entire group up. She could not bear to have that on her conscience.

In fact, thinking about it, as things stood it was likely to be almost impossible to bring Kaiba in, but, and she was resolute about this, she would do her best to remain friends with Kaiba no matter what. At least she was one hundred percent sure that Yugi would approve. After all, he had tried to be Kaiba's friend on more than one occasion.

Maybe Kaiba would consent to being friends with Yugi but without the rest of the group? Heaven knew that Kaiba needed friends, even if he would never admit as much, even to himself. That need was the reason that Anzu had determined to stick this through, although she couldn't get rid of that sinking feeling - especially when it came to Jonouchi, Honda and Otogi – that everything was going to go wrong.

There was a knock on the door. "Mazaki," Kaiba called, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, sorry," she said as she opened the bathroom door, then she stopped dead. Kaiba was wearing an exquisitely tailored black suit with deep blue accents. He looked absolutely stunning and the sight of him took her breath away.

"Isono is waiting for us out front," Kaiba said, pretending not to notice that she'd been struck dumb. "Shall we?"

She took his arm, much like she had on the previous occasion they had gone out together and let him lead her to the waiting limousine. She inclined her head an Isono as he held the door open for her and he gave what she thought was an almost imperceptible nod in return. She sat inside, Kaiba followed her in, sitting opposite and then they were on their way.

They were silent for a few moments, then Anzu looked at Kaiba with some concern. "Erm... I won't have to give my name, will I?" she asked. "I'm sure that the press will ask at least..."

"You are quite right," Kaiba said with a nod. "That is why we shall simply give your name as Kisa."

"Kisa?" Anzu's eyes widened with surprise. "Isn't that short for..."

"Don't think too much about it," Kaiba said sourly, looking uncomfortably out of the window. Anzu could see that he was quite agitated about this and questioning him over it would not produce anything good so she wisely decided to let it drop.

"There is one more thing..." she began, flinching slightly as Kaiba gave her an irritated look.

"What is it," he all but snapped at her. Then he took in Anzu's expression and he softened slightly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I am not the most... patient of men," a blatant lie. When it came to something he wanted, he could be patient. At least that's what he liked to tell himself. "I also don't like to think about... certain things."

"It wasn't about that," Anzu said defensively. "I don't know if you've noticed, but women can be rather underhanded and bitchy when they are jealous of another woman and I can't help but worry about how some of them may react to me being your... date." She sighed. "That's what the thing with Makoto was rooted in. She was jealous that I was a better dancer naturally than she was willing to put in the work for." She gave Seto a wry look. "It may seem petty, but that is what us females can be like and as I told you last week, that's why I don't have many female friends."

"Yes, you did tell me that," Kaiba said, a thoughtful look upon his face. "I do know how... treacherous... the female of the species can be and it is something I had taken into consideration, especially with the events of last week. I know that some of the harpies out there seem to think that they are somehow entitled to my affections despite any indication to the contrary." He smirked, "However, as you are in disguise, you should not fear any reprisals after tonight and you will probably cause many of them anguish as they try to discover who you are and where you are from."

Anzu relaxed slightly, Kaiba's conviction on this relieving her at least somewhat. "Thank you Kaiba," she said. "That certainly puts things into perspective."

"Call me Seto," he said. "It will be expected tonight after all and," he paused and gave her a slightly uncertain look, "as a friend, it will mean a lot to me if you continued after tonight as well."

Anzu beamed. "Thank you Seto," she said, the name feeling strange upon her lips without the qualifying 'Kaiba' to follow it. Nevertheless, that simple gesture made her feel a whole lot better about where this friendship was going and as if Kaiba, no, Seto actually did trust her. "You may also call me Anzu," she said with a smile.

Seto, meanwhile, was smirking internally. Letting Anzu use his given name was part of his carefully crafted plan and it had been an ideal moment to make that 'concession' in order to put her more at ease. He regarded her carefully from across the limousine as she looked out of the window to watch the scenery pass by. He found himself surprised that she wasn't inanely chattering in order to fill this silence as many girls were wont to do and from what he expected from his past experiences with the girl. Maybe he had pegged her wrongly, having consistently dismissed her as nothing more than a cheerleader in the past. This was something that would have intrigued him at a different time, but this didn't really have anything to do with what he was about now, his goal being to seduce her away from the midget that was so much better than him at duel monsters, the card game that his entire life and livelihood was built around.

He frowned as the usual thoughts chased across his mind. Why could he never beat Yugi? Why, when he was the one with the gaming company and the prestige that came with it – the prestige that could only be enhanced if he could only take that title away from the freaky little duelist, the one thing that had mattered to him.

Yes, he may have all but given up on defeating Yugi at Duel Monsters, but he would still be getting to feel what it was like to lose.

"Seto?" Anzu's concerned voice brought him out of his introspection. "Is everything alright?"

Seto shook his head and gave a wry smile. "I'm sorry," he said, "I was just thinking of something to do with Kaiba Corporation."

"Oh," she replied. "Running a company like that must be a massive responsibility."

"You have no idea," he said, passing a hand over his eyes. "So many people seem to think that I have it easy, that I can do whatever I like. The fact that attending functions like this is part of my responsibility completely escapes them and they see it as me having a good time when in reality I would much rather be anywhere else." He gave her a warm smile. "At least this one should be a little more bearable." A little flattery, he surmised, could go a long way, especially when it could make the girl in question blush so prettily.

"Steady, Seto," she said with a wide grin, the blush not leaving her cheeks, "at this rate you may even fool me that you want to be with me."

"It wouldn't be so bad," Seto said nonchalantly, "and I could certainly do a whole lot worse." He watched as Anzu blushed and spluttered, waiting for the right moment. He burst out laughing. "Got you!" he exclaimed.

Anzu gaped. "So you do have a sense of humour of sorts," she observed. "But still, that wasn't very nice." She crossed her arms in mock outrage and looked out of the window in a huff.

"I'm sorry, Anzu," he said, although internally he was anything but and he congratulated himself on that successful bit of subterfuge. "That was... mean of me."

Anzu nodded an acknowledgment and the rest of the journey was spent in silence, Seto letting things lie as he knew that she was still likely to be apprehensive over the coming event. Fortunately it was only a few more minutes until the limousine pulled up outside the large ballroom where the function was being held.

Of course, Anzu couldn't help but worry that a function like this was way out of her league, but she thought that she would be alright as long as she stuck with Kaiba and, in the even that she did mess up somehow, at least she had the comfort of being anonymous.

Thank heavens for small mercies.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The car slowed to a stop and a moment later Isono opened the door. Kaiba got out, then he extended his hand to assist Anzu from the car. She disembarked demurely, keeping her legs together just as she had seen numerous stars do at similar functions - as well as what tended to happen when they didn't. What she was unprepared for was the sudden flash of the cameras as she came into view. She was only shocked for a moment, coming back to herself as Seto placed his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her towards the entrance.

She took a deep breath and smiled demurely for the cameras. She could do this, she told herself. Acting wasn't all that far removed from dancing after all and, thanks to several stints with the school's amateur dramatics club, she did consider herself a somewhat reasonable actress. She cast an adoring look up at Seto, causing another round to flashes to go off as she noted that Seto was smiling down at her with approval.

Soon, they reached the inside and they were being announced as they entered the room.

"Seto Kaiba and Kisa," the announcer boomed, causing Anzu to jump once again. Right, of course. She was to be called Kisa for the evening. It really wouldn't be good if she were to forget that. A slight tensing of the hand on her back told her that Seto had felt that small flinch and she resolved to concentrate harder on the matter at hand. She again looked adoringly up at her date for the evening as he guided her smoothly down the staircase towards the dance floor where there were little groups of businessmen gathered in various places and small groups of women gossiping here and there too. It was funny, she mused, how these things never seemed to change, whether it was the school disco or a high powered business function, the groups gathered around tended to look very similar.

She noted that everyone had stopped to look at them as they made their grand entrance, especially the women, several of whom were casting murderous glances in her direction. She resolutely ignored them, concentrating on being demure and serene. After all, Seto had asked her to come to the function with him and he hadn't chosen one of those women that were obviously only eyeing him up for his money. The fact that they had been passed over must be upsetting them greatly.

"Is everything alright, Kisa?" Seto asked as they reached the bottom of the grand staircase.

"Well, if looks could kill," Anzu replied with a smile, showing her amusement. "But I can definitely see why you needed a date for tonight."

"Indeed," Seto said, moving them along as he gave the harpies a filthy look. "They will almost certainly be trying to find out just who 'Kisa' is already. After all, she is a complete unknown to them." He smirked. "It will truly drive them insane when they cannot find out a thing."

"Well well," a man with a booming voice came over to the couple, "if it isn't young Kaiba." He turned towards Anzu. "And who is this lovely young woman?" he asked, smarmily grasping and kissing Anzu's hand, causing her to blush as she struggled not to simply pull her hand out of his grasp. That was really not the done thing, but she still pulled it back at the first opportunity.

"This is Kisa," Seto said. "Kisa, this is Daman Green, CEO of the American Green Industries."

"Oh, that would explain the accent," Kisa twittered, getting into her role. "Nice to meet you Mr. Green."

"Please, call me Daman," he replied, eyeing her up and down in a manner that made her skin crawl.

Anzu managed to blush some more. "Alright, Daman," she said demurely, hoping that Seto would realise how uncomfortable this was making her feel.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. How dare this man intrude on his 'date'. He knew that Anzu was only acting and would not abandon him here, but this intrusion still annoyed him nonetheless. "It was nice to see you, Green," Kaiba said dismissively, "but we must move on and mingle."

Daman was about to protest, but he noted how Kisa had pulled her hand away and stepped back towards Kaiba, then took one look at Kaiba's murderous expression and quickly rethought. "Of course," he said as he backed off. "I'll hope to catch up with you later."

Kaiba led Anzu away, brooding silently. He wasn't jealous. He wasn't – at least that is what he continued to tell himself. He was just irritated that someone had already hit on his 'date' and they had only been there for a scant few minutes.

"Are you OK Seto?" Anzu asked after a few moments too many of that brooding silence. This was a side of Seto that she didn't like to see.

He shook himself out of his funk. "I'm fine," he said. "Just irritated with Green, that's all." He sighed as he bowed to the inevitable. "He's a typical womaniser. In fact the only person worse than Green would be..."

"Well, hello there Kaiba," a familiar voice interrupted.

"...Otogi," Kaiba said with an even more irritated edge to his voice. The night was going from bad to worse and they had only been there for five minutes! If only he didn't have to be seen to attend this damned function. "Why are you here?" he asked pointedly. "I was under the impression that this was a function for _successful_ businessmen."

"Oh bite me, Kaiba," Otogi snapped. "My business might not be as huge as Kaiba Corporation, there aren't many as big as Kaiba Corporation after all, but I _am_ a successful businessman in my own right."

Kaiba snorted dismissively, but then he scowled as Otogi's expression turned positively predatory.

"Besides, less about that and more about the ravishing young lady on your arm."

Anzu paled. She hadn't been expecting to run into one of her circle of friends in this kind of place, although in retrospect she should have anticipated that Otogi might be here. He did run in some of the same circles as Kaiba after all.

However, before she could say anything, Kaiba spoke up. "You didn't come with your own date?" he asked irritably. "So you are going to stoop to trying to steal mine? That's just about what I would expect from you, Otogi."

"It's not stealing if she wants to go," Otogi said with a smirk. Anzu bit her lip. She wanted so badly to lay into Otogi, but by doing that she would give herself away so she made sure to hold her tongue. "So what do you say, babe?" Otogi continued. "I can guarantee that I could show you a much better time than this stick in the mud."

"No thank you," Kisa said politely, keeping her eyes down demurely, hiding as much of 'Anzu' as she could.

"You sure about that?" Otogi asked with some surprise. "You'd be missing out."

"The lady said no," Kaiba said coldly "and I very much doubt that she would be up for your definition of 'fun'." His tone left no doubt over his opinion of that. "Now leave her alone."

"OK, OK, keep your shirt on," Otogi said, surprised and somewhat annoyed that Kaiba would defend the girl so adroitly. "I shall hope to catch you at a later date, Kisa dear," he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared to mingle some more.

"Not bloody likely," Anzu muttered under her breath. She looked up at Seto. "That was a close one," she observed. "Are we likely to run into anyone else like that?"

"No, I think that's the worst over with, but once the speeches are done with we will have to mingle for a while." Seto replied. "Under normal circumstance I would not give most of these morons the time of day, but unfortunately for the smooth running of Kaiba Corporation, I have to no choice but to associate with them," he gave Anzu a wry look. "But at least it is only for one night."

Anzu became grateful for that thought herself, especially after an hour or so of boring presentations, including a short speech from Kaiba himself. After that she had to listen to business type talk and deals being brokered whilst she nibbled on expensive canapés and sipped lightly on sparkling juice. She didn't know much about business but she couldn't help but agree with Seto's assessment that most of the men here really were old blow-hards and their wives and girlfriends were, for the most part, the simpering sort that really set her teeth on edge.

But soon enough, despite trying to avoid it, she had no choice but to leave to go to the bathroom and she whispered into Seto's ear that she had to go. He gave her a concerned look, bade her to be careful then watched as she left, affecting that he was still actually interested in the conversation going on around him. He tried not to be too concerned, there was adequate security at this venue after all, but he didn't trust them to be able to keep 'Kisa' safe in the ladies room, especially with some of the looks she had been attracting being as she was here as his date.

He waited for several long moments and, indeed, was about to go and find out if everything was OK when Kisa came back from the rest room at quite a pace, a scowl written large upon her features. It would seem that something had indeed happened.

"Kisa," Seto said with some concern in his voice, "is everything alright?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Anzu said, looking down.

"It's not nothing, is it?" Seto asked gently. "Now tell me."

Anzu knew that Kaiba would not let it lie and that he may not like what had occurred, so she looked him defiantly in the eye before she began. "As I expected, one of those harpies that had been eyeballing me for most of the evening followed me to the bathroom. I suppose at least she waited until I had actually finished before she started, but she told me, and I quote, that I should 'leave her Seto alone' and if I didn't then I would be sorry."

"Is that it?" Kaiba asked, knowing that there was likely to be more.

"No, there is a little more," Anzu admitted, hoping that Seto wouldn't be upset with her for the next part. "When I ignored her and made to leave, she grabbed my arm and threatened me with physical violence." She looked up apologetically at Seto. "You know that I don't take well to that kind of thing so I decked her." She couldn't help but smirk despite herself. "She went down hard, like a sack of potatoes. Then she wailed that she would get her daddy to deal with me, but I left her to it. I'm sorry."

"Whatever are you sorry for?" Kaiba asked with mirth in his voice. "It sounds like she well and truly had it coming." He looked up just in time to see Sakura Shin come out from the corridor to the ladies room holding a hand gingerly over her cheek, which, from what he could see, was turning nicely red from where Anzu had hit her. She chanced a look over to Kaiba, but when she saw him glare at her, she scurried away like the rat she was.

"You're not upset?" Anzu asked in wonder. "I thought you would be mad that I drew attention to myself like that."

"Kisa, I can tell you for a fact that particular girl only threatens those she perceives as being weaker than herself," he smiled. "She obviously didn't count on you being a strong girl who will fight back. Maybe it will teach her not to judge by appearances in future." He looked up as the part of the evening he had been looking forward to began as the music started to play. "Now would you do me the honour of dancing with me? I would like to show these idiots just why I chose you as my date for tonight." he offered his hand, knowing that she would not refuse.

Anzu smiled as she took Seto's offered hand. This was the part where she would shine and she was looking forward to doing him proud.

They spent the next hour showing everyone just how dancing should be done. Many times other men tried to cut in and take Kisa to dance with for themselves, but they were refused at every turn, proprieties be damned. Even Otogi attempted to and he was given even shorter shrift than the previous time. And no wonder so many men wanted to cut in. Anzu was in her element and she was practically glowing as she showed off her natural talent for all the world to see.

All too soon for her liking, it was time for the last dance, a slower number as the event began to wind down. Anzu could not help but blush as she found herself dancing closely, even intimately with Seto. For all that she knew that he could be very cold and cruel and that she was never one hundred percent sure of how he would react or what he was going to do next, he certainly knew how to dance. But she supposed that he would have been rigorously trained in such things when he was being groomed as heir to Kaiba Corporation. They continued to move totally in synch as the dance came to it's end, then Kaiba dipped her. His face was so close to hers and for a moment that she got the distinct impression that he was going to kiss her. But then he pulled away, the moment was lost and she was left wondering if she had even read the signs correctly in the first place.

They straightened up and stood side by side to polite applause from the watchers on the sidelines. "Are you ready to leave now?" Kaiba asked. "I think we have been here for quite long enough and I would like to go before the rush starts."

"Of course," Anzu replied. "I think I've had enough of being in the public spotlight for one night."

Seto shook his head wryly. "At least after tonight you can fade back into obscurity," he said. "Unfortunately, I live most of my life under public scrutiny."

Anzu was taken slightly aback by that as it wasn't something that she had really considered before. She had thought that Kaiba got off on all the public attention, but even for the most public of people it must get really irritating at times. "I don't know how you do it," she said after a moment.

"It's not like I have a choice," Seto replied. "I just have to live with it."

Anzu was about to apologise for being presumptive about his life when they were interrupted by a tall, thin man who appeared to be in his forties. His black hair was perfectly coiffured, his blue eyes twinkled and despite the cane he used, he carried himself with a confident air.

"Seto Kaiba," he said, seeming to be rather put out. "You cannot leave yet. You must introduce me to your wonderful dance partner." He turned to Anzu before Kaiba could decline. "And what is your name, my dear?" he asked.

"Kisa" she said demurely, blushing as the man took her hand and kissed it. However, this time she did not get the impression that he wanted to seduce her away from her date – and from Kaiba's reaction, or lack of one, neither did he. She would be proved right when he spoke again.

"My name is Antoine Pierre," he said as he released her hand, "and I must know where Seto has been hiding you." He gave her an indulgent smile. "You dance absolutely exquisitely and from what I have seen so far, a talent such as yours is very rare. Have you had any classical training?"

Anzu blushed as she realised that she was standing in front of one of the most influential dance instructors in Domino - or even the country. "I attend dance classes three times a week," she said shyly.

"Do you see your future in dance?" he asked quickly.

"Oh yes," her eyes lit up, "I have hoped..." she began, but Kaiba cut her off.

"Antoine," he said, "if you wish to speak to Kisa later then contact me and I will set up a meeting. For now, it has been a long night and I need to get the young lady home."

"Oh, of course," Antoine said, waving a hand. "I understand completely and I shall hold you to that." He smiled at Anzu. "It has been lovely to meet you, my dear, and I hope to be speaking to you again very soon."

"Thank you," Anzu said, "I shall look forward to it."

With that, Kaiba guided Anzu away and shortly they were once again sat in the privacy afforded by Kaiba's limousine. "Would you like a drink?" he asked courteously after they were on the move.

"Oh yes please," Anzu said with a gasp. "Dancing like that can seriously work up a thirst."

Kaiba reached into an under-seat compartment and brought out two perfectly chilled bottles of mineral water, passing one over to the flushed young woman sat opposite. "You do dance very well," he observed, "even better than I thought you could." He gave her a genuine smile. "It would seem that you are possessed of some serious talent, especially if Antoine came out of his way to talk to you."

Anzu gave a wan smile. "It was really nice to hear him say those things about me and the fact that _the _Antoine Pierre rates my dancing is definitely going to spur me on, but," she looked down, "he saw Kisa dance, not Anzu."

"Don't worry about that," Kaiba said with a smile. "I already said that I was willing to arrange for him to meet with you. We shall just have to explain tonight's subterfuge. He is trustworthy and he will understand the necessity behind such things, I am sure."

"Really?" Anzu's face lit up. "Thank you Seto," she said as she threw herself across the limousine and hugged him gratefully. "You have no idea how much this means to me." Her eyes were damp with tears of happiness.

"I think I have some idea," Seto said lowly. He was, as expected, a little uncomfortable with Anzu glomping him like that, but not for his usual stand offish reasons. No, he found his face heating up with what was undoubtedly a blush and his heart began to race, sensations that he was not completely familiar with flooding through his system.

Abruptly, Anzu seemed to realise just who it was that she was currently embracing so enthusiastically, so she threw herself back to the other side of the limousine almost as quickly as she had thrown herself across it in the first place. "Sorry Seto," she said with a touch of embarrassment. "I didn't mean..."

"It's fine, Anzu," Seto said reassuringly, resisting the temptation to snap, so unsettled had her hug made him feel. "You were just being grateful, right?"

"Ah, yes," she said, giving him a shy look, "but I shouldn't have just hugged you like that. I know you don't like that kind of thing."

"I already said it's fine. You just took me by surprise, that's all. I should get used to things like that if I am going to have... friends."

Anzu nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She had experienced a startling epiphany and had finally admitted to herself that she was attracted to Seto Kaiba. She supposed that this wasn't too surprising as he _was _extremely handsome and he had shown that he could be a decent person, but she knew better than to even consider acting upon that revelation. To do so could potentially ruin everything that they had gained so far and it would definitely damage things to the point where Seto would never trust any so-called friend again. She also didn't want to be lumped in with the harpies that Seto had gone so far to avoid tonight. No, she knew that she had to keep this newly realised attraction to herself and concentrate on nurturing their friendship instead.

"So," Seto's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "did you have a good evening?"

"Oh yes, thank you," she replied. "I'm never one to say no where dancing is concerned and I have to say that you were a most excellent partner."

"That is the result of extensive tutoring," Seto said, all but confirming Anzu's supposition over how he had come to know Antoine Pierre. "But tell me, did the harpy that caught you in the restroom hurt you?" he asked, showing his concern. "I know that I should have asked earlier, but I also know that you would not want to cause a fuss."

"No, she didn't hurt me," Anzu replied, but her hand went instantly to her opposite arm. Seto took that cue and leaned across the car, moving the diaphanous sleeve up to reveal a rapidly forming bruise.

"I take it that she did do this," he asked pointedly.

"Don't worry about it," Anzu said, shaking her head. "She'll never see Kisa again after all."

"Well maybe I want to worry about it," he insisted. "What kind of friend would I be if I let this pass? Would your other friends do any less?"

"No, they wouldn't," Anzu admitted. Yugi would worry and support her as best he could, but Jonouchi would take great exception to anyone hurting his friends and Honda would not be far behind him.

"So you can understand where I am coming from when I say that I cannot let this pass?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose I can," Anzu replied, "and I know that I would feel the same way if any of my friends were hurt," she looked up at him, "that includes you too. But..."

"I shall only go so far as is necessary," Seto anticipated what she was going to say, although he was not as cold as he normally would have been. "That I had chosen to attend the function with you as my date for the evening should have been enough. Even taking into account that she threatened my date, her actions imply that I am not capable – or even allowed – to make my own decisions pertaining to my life and who I choose to be with. Such an insult cannot go unanswered."

"You know," Anzu said, "You have a real talent for turning my perceptions on their head, but maybe you would send more of a message by ignoring them?" she ventured. "After all, if these people want your attention, then you will be denying them and that is a whole message right there."

Seto could have said something insulting to that, but he intended to stick to the plan so he let the opportunity pass. "Unfortunately, I cannot afford to ignore them or they may go even further next time," he said. "I don't want to let them find a way that could possibly hurt me and mine." He needed to get Anzu to understand, but what he didn't say was that a call informing Sakura's 'daddy' of what she had been up to should be sufficient as the man would not want to cross Seto Kaiba.

Anzu sighed as she realised that she would never win that particular argument. "I suppose that I really don't know very much about you and how you live except for what is on the surface," she admitted. "I've assumed a lot of things and I suspect a lot of it is wrong."

"It's understandable," Seto said, sitting back and crossing his legs. "It's not like I let anyone really get close enough to find that out. Before now, that is." He gave Anzu a genuine smile, something that made her heart skip a beat. "So... I'm in an open kind of mood this evening," he said. "I can't promise that I will answer, but you can ask me anything you like." He sat and watched her expectantly, waiting to see what kind of thing she would come up with to ask.

"I..." Anzu paused as she thought about what to ask. "Why did you suddenly decide that you wanted to learn about friendship?" she finally asked.

Kaiba was genuinely surprised. He'd expected her to ask something vapid or crass like how much he was worth. "I..." he started then paused to collect his thoughts and quickly decide what to tell her.

"After Yugi beat me for the umpteenth time, just after Atem had gone to his rest, I wondered how he could have so much strength even after losing someone that was... so close to him." He noted that Anzu did not flinch this time when Atem was mentioned, which, in his opinion, had to be an improvement. "It came to mind how he always kept going on about the strength of the ties to his friends and how they supported him and carried him through even when all seemed to be lost and I couldn't help but wonder if there really was something to it."

"So this is just a means to an end for you?" Anzu said, dismay evident in her voice. "You think that if you have friends then you'll be able to beat Yugi? And there was me thinking that you were being genuine about this."

Kaiba was surprised that she had jumped to that conclusion, but thinking about it, he could not blame her. Now he just had to convince her otherwise or the game would likely end here and everything he had done so far would be for naught. He was grateful that they were in a moving car and she couldn't just walk away.

"I am being genuine about this," he said fervently, reaching forwards to take her hand as he tried to communicate his sincerity with his eyes. "I told you weeks ago that I am not going to challenge Yugi like that again as it is extremely unlikely that I shall ever beat him. I do enjoy spending time with you and... I don't think I want to lose that now." He could tell that he had convinced her by her reaction.

"You... you really won't challenge Yugi any more?" She asked, surprised that he had actually meant it.

"No, not outside of normal tournaments anyway," Kaiba smiled. "I have to take SOME chance to regain my title, even as sure as I am that it will never happen. I do have a public image to keep up after all." As much as it pained him to admit it, he knew that he was speaking the absolute truth. As dismissive as he had been towards Yugi and his friends in the beginning, the diminutive teen was surely an impressive duelist. He would even extend that somewhat to Jonouchi, who had quickly grown from someone who fumbled through his duels by luck alone to a strong duelist in his own right. Not that he would ever admit such a thing aloud, even under duress.

Anzu did not know what to say. She had been worried that Kaiba was going to use her somehow since he had first asked for her help, but if he was really going to back off like that... She stayed silent for a while, digesting this information and how it continued to change her view of him.

Before too much more time had passed, they arrived back at the Kaiba Mansion. Kaiba escorted her inside and waited as she changed. As she came out, he had to ask, "Haven't you forgotten something?"

Anzu double checked her neck, wrist and ears, making sure she hadn't forgotten to remove that ultra expensive jewellery. "No, I've taken everything off," she said.

Kaiba walked back into the bedroom, then came out carrying a small bag. "I told you that you could keep these cosmetics," he said. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

"I did," Anzu said sheepishly. "Thank you, Seto."

He escorted her to the door. "Isono will drive you home," he said. "Thank you for tonight, Anzu. I really appreciated your help."

"No, I should thank you," Anzu said. "I had a great time and I even got noticed by Antoine Pierre." She gave a big smile. "Things could not have worked out any better so... thank you." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, then walked to where Isono was waiting out by the car.

Kaiba stood there, hand raised to his face, stunned into silence as he watched the car leave the drive. Then once it was out of sight his hand fell and that stunned expression gave way to a sinister grin. His plan was going far better than he had expected. Soon he would seduce the girl and finally be able to lord it over Yugi.

He wasn't sure at this point what the next step was going to be, but he knew that it would somehow involve having Anzu over to the mansion. But that was a plan for another day and he finally moved back indoors in order to check on his brother and prepare for bed.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

In the car, Anzu watched the streets pass by as she headed towards home. Then she almost jumped out of her skin when Isono unexpectedly spoke.

"Miss Mazaki," he said in his cultured tones. "Thank you for giving Mr. Kaiba a chance. You are good for him."

"I haven't really done anything," she demurred, blushing gently.

"But you have, whether you know it or not," the stoic man countered. "For this last couple of weeks, Mr. Kaiba has been much less stressed and is much more pleasant to work for, which in turn makes my job much easier." he gave a wry smile at that last.

"Is Seto really that bad to work for?" Anzu asked with concern.

"Bad is not the word I would use," Isono replied as he made sure that he kept his eyes on the road. "Difficult at times, maybe, but he does have a lot on his plate. He has needed someone else to associate with other than his brother and I have to say that he probably could not have chosen better."

"Thank you, Isono," Anzu said as the car pulled up outside her house. "I'll try not to let him down." She got out of the car. "Goodnight," she said, then she walked to her front door and let herself in, knowing that the man was not likely to drive away until she was safely inside.

Once Anzu was out of sight, Isono put the car into gear and drove away. He wasn't exactly sure why his boss was doing what he was doing, but he was sure that there was more to it than was evident on the surface. Still, it was none of his business, but he hoped that things would turn out for the best. For Kaiba's sake.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N**- The next chapter is a fair bit shorter as it serves as a bridge between this part and the next.

Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu arrived at the game shop bright and early the next morning, determined to make up for not being able to spend the previous evening with her friends. She walked in to find Yugi and Jonouchi poring over a newspaper on the kitchen counter. "Hey guys," she greeted them.

"Hey Anzu," Yugi said cheerfully. "Did you have a good night last night?"

"Oh, it was a fairly normal girl's night in," she hedged. "What do you have there?" she asked by way of changing the subject.

"Oh, just looking at the pictures of Kaiba's new floozy," Jonouchi said offhandedly.

Anzu's heart plummeted for a moment, until she actually saw the picture and let out a slight gasp. There, large on the front page was a stunning picture of Kaiba and Kisa dancing together, the image showing the moment at the end of the slow dance where he'd dipped and almost kissed her, along with several smaller images of them arriving for the function.

"They look very happy," Yugi said wistfully, "and Kisa is very pretty."

"Meh," Jonouchi made a sceptical noise. "She won't be so happy when she finds out what an ass he is,"

"Don't be like that, Jonouchi," Yugi chided his friend. "They genuinely look happy together and maybe Kaiba will mellow a little if he's romantically involved."

"It'll be a cold day in hell when that happens," Jonouchi insisted. "The guy is an asshole and always will be."

Yugi rolled his eyes at Jou and turned to a now slightly paler Anzu. "What do you think Anzu?" he asked.

"Well, I guess that miracles could happen," she said, reading the article as a way of avoiding looking Yugi in the eyes. She knew that Yugi could be very perceptive at times and she didn't want to risk giving herself away.

"Yeah, it would be a miracle too," Jonouchi said. "Mark my words, that girl is getting herself in deeper than she knows and I bet that Kaiba will break her heart."

"I think you are being a bit harsh on Kaiba," Anzu said. "He has to have the attitude he does or the business world would chew him up and spit him out and that's not taking into account that he has to defend against all the people that would take him for whatever they could get. I think that if the right person were to come along, he would be a most considerate partner."

"I agree with you," Yugi said, "Kaiba just needs the right person. Heaven knows that we could never get him to open up, so maybe this Kisa can succeed where we have failed."

"I certainly hope so," Anzu said with a smile for her friend.

"You are both completely delusional," Jonouchi said with a snort. "Kaiba wouldn't know how to have a relationship if his life depended on it."

Anzu narrowed her eyes and was about to lay into her utterly clueless friend when he phone rang. She quickly pulled it out and glanced at the caller display, blinking when she noted that it simply said S1, her code for Seto.

She quickly pressed the button to answer the call before one of the others could peer over her shoulder to see who could be calling her. "Hello Suzuki," she greeted the caller with a smile. That would cover the S shown on the display in the unlikely event that either Yugi or Jonouchi had caught sight of it. "It's a surprise to hear from you this morning."

"Not as much of a surprise as it is to be called Suzuki," Kaiba said, amusement in his tone. "I take it that you are not alone?"

"Oh no, I'm over at my friend's place this morning," she replied carefully.

"Hmm... have you seen the papers this morning?" he asked.

"Oh yes, they are very good."

"So you don't mind then?"

"Not at all," Anzu replied. "I really enjoyed our outing last night and we'll have to do it again sometime."

"Yes, I very much think we will," Kaiba said. "So how did your friends take the pictures?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, just the usual, you know," Anzu replied.

"Hmm, that means that Jonouchi is insisting it's a bad thing, right?"

"Oh, you are right there," she replied cheerily trying to keep the others from wondering what was up. She hoped that Kaiba would ring off soon or he was likely to cause her to blow their cover.

"I won't keep you on the line any longer," Kaiba said. "I'm pleased that you are not upset and I will speak to you soon."

"OK, it's been good to hear from you too, Suzuki," Anzu said, trying not to show her relief that the call was finally ending. "Look after yourself."

"You too," Kaiba said simply, then he finally rang off.

Anzu turned to find both Yugi and Jonouchi regarding her with an expectant air. "It was just the friend that I spent last night with," Anzu said, brushing off their questions before they could start. "So... what's the plan for today?"

Yugi smiled. "We'll be meeting Honda and Otogi at the arcade. Honda still entertains the notion that he can beat me at that racing game."

"Oh, he's not STILL on about that, is he?" Anzu laughed, breathing an internal sigh of relief. The topic had moved on and she wasn't going to have to worry about tripping herself up now.

Jonouchi, however, watched her warily. There was something going on here and he did not like it one little bit. He knew that if something were going on with Anzu then it had the potential to be something that would hurt and upset his best friend. As far as he was concerned Yugi had gone through enough already.

He swore that he would protect Yugi to the best of his ability – even if it were against the girl that was his oldest friend.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

During the next week of school, Anzu caught Jonouchi regarding her with suspicion on several occasions. He had not confronted her directly, but she could not help but worry about what he was suspecting and what he would do about it if he were to discover the truth. But even should Jonouchi hate her, she still felt that she had a duty to try and remain friends with Kaiba.

She probably would have been tempted to go against what Kaiba wanted and confided in Yugi, but thanks to Jonouchi she could never seem to be able to get him alone at an appropriate moment. Since Atem – and she noted that it no longer pained her quite as much to think about the ancient spirit – had gone back to his afterlife, Jonouchi had appointed himself as Yugi's protector and had hardly left his side. She had found that she couldn't even call Yugi at home to apprise him of the situation as Jonouchi often stayed over at the Mutou's place, mainly because of his home situation, but where previously he would sometimes have stayed over at Honda's, he was almost exclusively staying at Yugi's these days. Anzu had wondered if such a fixation were healthy, but upon airing this during lunch one day, Yugi had said that Jonouchi would get it out of his system eventually. In the meantime, she had to let it go. Really, Jonouchi was doing her a favour by stopping her from breaching Kaiba's confidence, something that would have ruined any trust Kaiba had for her when he would inevitably find out.

As it was, she and Kaiba did not associate with each other inside of school, but she kept an eye out for him and they did at least nod in acknowledgement if the rest of the group weren't around. However, on this particular day, Kaiba had actively searched her out, fortunately coming upon her as she was between classes and away from her other friends.

Since their 'date' the previous Saturday, Kaiba had been racking his mind for a way to invite Anzu to spend the night at the mansion that did not scream 'I wanna seduce you!' and as it happened, it had been Mokuba who had given him the answer. Mokuba had come to Seto late the previous night and had asked him if he could attend a sleepover at his friend Daisuke's house on Saturday night. In that moment, Seto had the perfect idea. He could ask Anzu to come for a 'sleepover'. He could explain that Mokuba liked to have sleepovers with his friends and he was certain that Anzu would jump at the chance to show him another facet of 'friendship'.

Mokuba had been shocked when Seto had so readily agreed, usually making him have to plead to be allowed to go, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, had thanked his brother profusely and had run off to let his friend know that he could seep over before Seto could change his mind.

Now he just had to ask Anzu and hope that she hadn't made prior arrangements. "Anzu," he called her attention. "May I speak with you a moment?"

"Sure, Seto," she said, pleased that he had actually come to speak with her inside of school. That could only be counted as progress. "What can I help you with?"

"Mokuba..." he paused, feeling unsure about this now, absently wondering why it was suddenly so important that she accept his invitation. "Mokuba is away at a friend's house for a sleepover this weekend, so I was wondering..." he tailed off. What the hell was wrong with him, acting like he was asking a girl out for the first time like some lovestruck teenager. He was Seto Kaiba, scourge of the business world. He could make grown and seasoned men quake in their boots, what was so hard about asking one girl to join him for a sleepover?

"Yes?" Anzu prompted gently, curiosity written large on her face.

"I was wondering if you would like to come for a sleepover at the mansion?" he asked, starting and looking off into the distance as he realised that he was coming dangerously close to blushing.

Anzu blinked at Seto's request. A sleepover? Wasn't such a thing more for children of Mokuba's age? But then she considered that she would also 'sleepover' with her friends under the guise of 'movie night' or something similar. And besides, from what she knew of Seto's childhood, she knew that it was fairly unlikely that Seto had ever been allowed to have anything as normal as a sleepover and as a friend she owed it to him to try and make up for that lack.

"I'd love to," she found herself saying, "it sounds like fun." She smiled to show that she was being genuine.

"You will?" Seto said enthusiastically. Then he stopped and shook himself, regaining the control he had so nearly lost. "Thank you," he said in a more serious tone. "So... what do we do on a... sleepover?" he asked.

"Well," Anzu said thoughtfully, "we watch movies, eat snacks, play games and generally laugh together," she explained, suddenly wondering if this could possibly work at all what with how Seto normally was, but she felt that she at least had to try and Seto was quite reasonable, well, when he was on his own anyway. "It's really just a different time for friends to spend with one another. It's fun," she concluded.

"And... what are the usual sleeping arrangements for such things?" he asked.

"We usually end up in sleeping bags on the floor, or on the sofas or anywhere comfortable really," she replied.

"Is this conducive to a good nights sleep?" he wondered, eyebrows raised.

"Well, no," she admitted, "but that's half the fun of having a sleeopver."

"I see," Seto nodded sagely. "So... will Saturday night be alright with you?"

"Sounds good," she said. "I'll be spending Friday night with the guys, so there's no clash there," she smiled.

"What time should I pick you up?"

"Is sometime around six good?"

"That sounds good to me," Kaiba said. "I'll look forward to it." He gave her a warm smile that made her stomach give a little flip, then he turned and stalked off towards his next class.

Anzu walked towards her next class in a daze. A sleepover? Well this could either be very very bad or very very good, she mused. Well, depending on what she wanted from this. However, she had already promised herself that she would not act on her newly discovered attraction for the icy CEO. Not unless he acted first, that was, but she was sure that it would be a cold day in hell before something like that would happen. But then it occurred to her that there had been a couple of occasions...

She stopped herself right there, before her thoughts could get out of hand. That was the product of wishful thinking and an over active imagination, that was all.

Still, the sleepover was something that held the promise of at least being able to advance their friendship. And that could only be a good thing, right?

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
><strong>

**A/N**- The next chapter will be longer. This one, as I said before, was more of a bridge that didn't fit with either the previous chapter or the next - at least not without making them way too long.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Saturday evening rolled around and, as promised, Seto Kaiba arrived to pick Anzu up at 6pm sharp. She dashed from the house, overnight bag in hand and got into the passenger seat of his car.

"Good evening, Seto," Anzu said pleasantly. "Isono not driving tonight?" she asked. It was rare that Seto went anywhere without his chauffeur come bodyguard.

"I gave him the night off," Seto said with a smile. "It's been a while since he's had much time for himself so he's probably gone to visit his mother."

"Oh," Anzu was taken slightly aback. "Well, that was nice of you," she said.

"Yes. I'm not totally inhuman, you know," he said with a wry smile. "But don't let it get out. My reputation is on the line."

Anzu laughed, any nervousness she was feeling over spending the evening alone with Kaiba melting away with that one quip.

A few minutes later, Seto drove the car into the Kaiba estate and into the garage, then he took Anzu's case and led her through the house.

"Where are we going, Seto?" she asked. Before she could answer she was escorted into a large lounge room and she gasped as she realised it was set up exactly as she had described a sleepover to be. There were two sleeping bags laid out on one of the plush sofas, snacks and drinks set up on the coffee table and the TV was set up to play movies and games, whichever was to take their fancy.

"Well, what do you think?" Seto asked.

"I'm impressed," Anzu said. "So... should I change into my pyjamas now?"

"Pyjamas?" Seto asked, a startled look upon his face.

"Well... it's kind of a tradition," Anzu said with a blush, "but I guess it is a little early for that..."

"No, no," Seto said, shaking his head. "Far be it from me to interfere with tradition. I just... overlooked that I would need pyjamas, that's all." He led her out into the corridor and showed her to a door. "You can change in here," he said. "I shall go and change myself and meet you back in the sleepover room in a few minutes. OK?"

Anzu nodded her agreement then walked through the door and into a lavishly appointed bathroom. At least she would know how to get to one if she needed to go in the night, she mused. She wouldn't have been surprised to find herself getting lost otherwise, the Kaiba manor being as large as it was.

As she changed into her soft cotton pyjamas, she once again questioned the wisdom of coming here tonight, especially as Isono had been given the night off. Seeing as he had dismissed his most trusted member of staff for the evening, she could probably take it as read that the rest of the staff had been similarly dismissed which meant that she and Kaiba were very much alone.

She did wonder as to his motives in doing such a thing. She supposed that she could put it down to his being unwilling to let his staff see him taking part in something as childish as a sleepover. But short of asking him outright she wasn't likely to get an answer, especially as he could very easily take offence. The alternative to her hypothesis was not something she would let herself consider, having made her decision to trust Seto. She would just have to see how things went.

After she finished changing, she folded her street clothes and put them into her case, then she brought it back with her and placed it in the corner of the room, out of the way. She noted that Seto wasn't back yet, which did surprise her, but then maybe he was having trouble locating a pair of pyjamas. She had no idea what he slept in and she hadn't mentioned pyjamas before tonight so he was probably having to dig something out. She made herself comfortable on the sofa in front of the television and waited for Seto's return, hoping that he wouldn't be too long. She honestly didn't rate her chances of success if she had to go and try to find him, despite having been to his room on two previous occasions.

"Sorry I took so long," Seto said as he finally returned to the room. "I had to find some suitable pyjamas to wear." He indicated the dark blue pyjamas that he currently wore, the fact that they had just been taken out of a packet given away by the creases. "I... don't normally wear such things so it didn't even cross my mind."

"Don't apologise," Anzu said with a smile, "such oversights happen easily." She decided to change the subject. "So, what are we going to watch?"

"Death Zombies from Outer Space," Seto said with a grin as Anzu's expression changed to one of shock. "After seeing how bad the second installment was, I decided to look up part one to see if it's any better," he explained. "I thought we could... snark at it together."

"Sure, sounds like a plan," Anzu agreed, "and we won't have to worry about disturbing anyone else while we do it, seeing as we are in private."

"Quite," Seto said with an incline of his head. He sat down next to Anzu, picked up the remote and started the movie. "Help yourself to snacks," he offered.

Anzu smiled as she did so and the next couple of hours were spent laughing at the absurd 'special effects', snarking at the cheesy dialogue and ham acting along with gagging at the film's portrayal of 'romance'.

Anzu really liked this side of Seto, the carefree teenager that he should have been and she knew that she was incredibly privileged to witness the side of Seto Kaiba that he didn't let anyone, save possibly Mokuba, see.

"Oh wow," Anzu gasped as the credits rolled, "that was almost as bad as the second film."

"I agree and what I don't understand is how they could possibly have got funding to make the sequel," Seto wondered. "This film should have been the end of it." He shook his head at the absurdity of it all. "So, what now?" he asked.

"Hmm..." Anzu mused. "At this time of night we usually make hot chocolate." She gave him a quizzical look. "Do you have any?" she asked.

"There is only one way to find out," Seto said, standing and offering her his hand, which she took as she got up herself. "We shall have to go to the kitchen and see."

Anzu followed Seto from the room, noting with a blush that he had not let go of her hand. She didn't even try to draw away, enjoying the contact despite her vow not to try and push this beyond simple friendship. A girl could dream, couldn't she? It didn't mean that she had to act upon it and, yes, to try to push things further would likely be a mistake, but she could dream.

"Are you still with me?" Seto asked as he noted that Anzu had zoned out with a small blush upon her face. Good, the plan was still working then. "I do hope that you are paying attention to the route. You could easily get lost in here."

Anzu blinked. "Uh..." she said intelligently.

Seto smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let you get lost," he grinned, "unless you annoy me."

Anzu used her free hand to reach across and slap his arm affectionately. "Ass," she said. "Good job I like you," she muttered.

"Good," Seto said, trying to conceal a triumphant grin. "Because I'm finding that I rather like you too."

The finally arrived at the kitchen, Anzu's eyes widening as she took in the luxuriously appointed room. "Wow, this is some kitchen," she said. "So, it looks good but does it contain what we need for hot chocolate?"

"I have no idea," he said. "Let's find out." They spent a good few minutes poking through cupboards and digging through the fridge before Anzu finally declared that they had come up with all the items they needed. She wasted no time in preparing the beverage whilst Seto watched appreciatively from his seat at the island counter.

"Do you still miss him?" Seto asked suddenly.

Anzu froze for a moment as the question had taken her quite by surprise. "You mean... Atem?" she asked as she continued to prepare the hot chocolate.

Seto resisted the urge to snap at her. Who else could he possibly be talking about? the bloody tooth fairy? But this was part of his plan and he needed to know the answer to enable him to gauge his chances of meeting success tonight or whether it would be better to wait patiently for another opportunity to present itself.

"Yes," he confirmed simply.

"I..." she paused, "I don't miss him as much as I thought I would," she poured the hot chocolate and finished it off with a touch of whipped cream and some chocolate sprinkles, then she rinsed the pan before placing the drinks on the island counter and sitting opposite Seto. "It feels strange to think about him now," she said, "almost like a dream."

"That may be for the best," Seto said carefully. "He was never really alive in this time and he would most likely have had to leave in one way or another whether he wanted to stay or not."

"I know," she said, hanging her head slightly, "it just feels..." she tailed off, unable to articulate her thoughts.

"How does it feel," Seto prompted. He knew that talking about this would help her to move past this obstacle, which could only help him with what he planned.

Anzu looked up at him with some pain in her eyes. He may not like what she had to say next, but she had to say it. "It sometimes feels unfair because you got to live when he had to go back."

Seto paused at this. It was not something he had expected her to say and it was going too far into things that he did not like to think about. But... for the game... he thought that he could bring himself to discuss this.

"If you look at it on the surface," he said stiffly, "I was reborn and he was not, due to being sealed into the puzzle thousands of years ago." His expression turned marginally softer, "You could look at it from the other side and say that it is not fair that I had to be reborn and taken from my afterlife to put things right, yet here I am."

Anzu mused for a moment. "I never thought of it that way," she admitted.

"But that is just looking at the surface only, and I don't think of it that way either. Besides, you know how I feel about all this past life business," he reminded her. "I was just pointing out a different position on the matter, that is all." His expression became pinched again. "And if we look past the surface," he continued, "you do realise that Yugi is very likely to be the reincarnation of the dead pharaoh? Don't you think that he will eventually grow to be more like... Atem?"

"Well, I suppose he might, but..." she paused again.

"But, Seto prompted again, getting irritated with the way that this was dragging on.

"Well, it doesn't matter that Yugi might be his reincarnation," she blurted. "Even if that were true, he isn't Atem any more than you are Seth!"

Seto was truly taken aback. He'd felt that he'd had to ask the question even if it meant that he were to lose his chance. He wanted to be sure that he was going to be able to crush his opposition completely, but he was surprised at her level of understanding of this issue. So many times the others in her group had treated him as though her should accept that he was Seth, but he wasn't. He may have shared the same soul and some memories, but he had a completely different set of life experiences and had grown into a different person.

"So what about the ceremonial duel," Anzu asked, jarring him from his thoughts. "What do you think would have happened if Yugi had lost?"

"Well, if we take what we have already supposed into account, it means that Atem _had _to go back and as such it may have happened whether Yugi had won the duel of not," Seto began to explain.

"Alternatively, if Yugi had not won the duel, Atem's soul may have been lost to the shadows. If Yugi _is_ Atem's reincarnation, that outcome would have meant that Yugi would have ceased to exist. This could have caused problems of a catastrophic nature due to the paradox caused by Yugi never having existed to solve the puzzle and free the spirit. It's all very complicated, but if you look at it that way, the ceremonial duel could have been just as much to save the world as the rest of the crap you all went through."

He then gave Anzu a compassionate look, "Or, again, it is possible that Yugi and Atem may have stayed together - or that Yugi may have disappeared instead and Atem would have been given sole ownership of the body. In that case you could consider that Yugi may have been fighting for his own right to exist."

"Wow, that's quite... unforgiving," Anzu said with shock, all that information being a lot to take in.

"I'm not claiming that any of what I just said is fact," Seto said seriously, "and there are many other scenarios that could have happened just as easily, but from everything I have seen the shadows are cruel by their very nature, which is why nobody should ever interfere with them."

"I can certainly appreciate that," she said, obviously still turning what Seto had said over in her mind. She drained her now lukewarm hot chocolate, then looked over at Seto's, which he had not touched. "Come on, drink up," she said, changing the subject and lightening the mood. "It'll go stone cold and that would be a waste."

"And that would be a crime after you went to all the trouble of making it for me," Seto said as he finally lifted the cup to his lips. As the hot chocolate, well, more like warm chocolate now, hit his tongue, his eyes widened. "Anzu... marry me..." he said in awe.

"What!" She exclaimed, shocked that he would say such a thing.

"This is... delicious." he drank the rest of it down greedily.

"It's nothing special," she replied, blushing furiously.

"I beg to differ," Seto said once he had drained the cup to the dregs, "I don't think I have ever tasted a better cup of hot chocolate. What's the secret?"

"Just that it was made with love," she said. "Anything will taste better if it is made with love." She froze as she realised what she had just said, blushed, then turned to rinse Seto's mug in the sink.

"Leave that for the staff to deal with," Seto said, passing Anzu's previous comment by completely. He shook his head as she ignored him and continued to was his mug, but it was only a few moments more until she was done. "Now..." his features took on a mischievous twist, "last one back is a rotten egg," he yelled, then he raced from the room.

"Hey, no fair!" Anzu shouted as she gave chase," I'll get lost!"

"Then you'll lose," Seto called back at her as he turned a corner. Anzu cursed and raced to catch up but by the time she reached the corner, Seto had disappeared.

She sighed as she thought about how to retrace her steps. She had a reasonably good idea as to which direction she should take, but the mansion was just SO large. Seto and Mokuba must rattle around in here even when the staff were in attendance!

It took one or two wrong turns and the opening of several wrong doors, but eventually she made it back to the room that was supposed to be their den for the night. She opened the door and crept inside, surprised as she didn't see any sign of Seto, but as she walked over to the sofa to sit and wait for him to return from wherever it was that he had got to, he jumped up from behind it and vaulted over it, scaring her half witless and causing her to give a loud shriek.

"Hey there, rotten egg," he smirked, finding her reactions completely amusing.

"God damn it, Seto!" she yelled. "Don't. Do. That!" She punctuated each word with a poke to his side. But she looked up in astonishment as he suddenly gave an undignified shriek of his own. She grinned and her eyes narrowed. "Well, well, well, who would have thought it," she drawled with an evil grin upon her face. "The great Seto Kaiba actually has a weakness."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Seto said, stiffening and crossing his arms defensively. He looked away, as if to deny her.

"Oh, I think you do," she replied sitting at an angle and facing towards him. She paused and regarded him for several long moments, then just as he was beginning to think that she would not do anything, something that caused him to relax slightly, her hands shot out and she began to tickle him. Seto let out another undignified shriek and tried to get her to stop, but to no avail as Anzu certainly wasn't having any of that and deftly avoided his grasping hands. She was enjoying this new, less uptight side of Seto Kaiba. However, Kaiba could not take the torture any longer. He twisted away from her hands, turned and grabbed them in a firm hold, then he forced her down, hovering above her, breathless and dishevelled.

The mood abruptly changed.

Anzu looked up at Seto, her breath catching sharply at the vision hovering over her. He was usually handsome, but that mussed look was doing things to her insides that she had never felt before and she could not help but take that involuntary breath.

Kaiba smirked internally as he heard Anzu take in that breath and saw the blush cover her face. He knew that the moment had come to bring his plans to fruition so he moved his face slowly towards her, giving her the chance to refuse him if she wanted to. He was pleased, however, as her eyes drifted closed and she tilted her face towards him, ready to accept his embrace.

For a moment he was sorely tempted to pull away, to move to her ear instead, to completely mess with her mind, but he knew that to pull so cruel a stunt would likely sour their relationship completely. He was surprised, however, to realise that he actually wanted this and didn't want to embarrass her that way – at least not yet.

In the next moment his lips met hers and he was almost washed away by the onslaught of feeling and emotion. He let go of her hands and was instantly gratified as her hands moved, not to push him away as he had feared, but to tangle in his hair, pulling him more firmly against her. He deepened the kiss, tongue sliding sensuously between her lips and begging her own tongue to come out and play. Gods, he could get used to this.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

It was about twenty minutes later as they lay there gasping together, Seto wondering what had just happened. After they had kissed, things had got out of control very quickly and he had ended up taking Anzu right there on the sofa - with her consent, of course. But he couldn't help but wonder at his loss of control. How had Anzu affected him so much?

But there had been an incredible sense of rightness about the whole thing and he knew in that moment that this one time would never be enough. He wanted to keep her, to cherish her, to make her his and his alone. Beating Yugi was no longer a concern as he found that he no longer cared. He just wanted to keep Anzu by his side and he would go to almost any lengths to do so.

"Seto?" Anzu asked shakily a few moments later, concerned that he had not spoken yet. Her tone made it fairly obvious that she was concerned over what was going to happen now.

He leaned up and kissed her, hoping to get most of his point across without the use of words. "Anzu, you blew my mind," he said, looking at her with genuine affection.

"At the risk of inflating your ego," Anzu said with a relieved smile, "you pretty much blew mine too."

"I don't think my ego is in much danger of inflating again any time soon," Seto quipped as he moved away slightly. Then he froze. "Fuck," he swore, pulling back almost violently and getting to his feet. This was not good.

"What? Again?" Anzu smiled, then she frowned as she took in his furious expression. "What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable and scared.

"I forgot to use a condom," he spat, cursing himself for getting so carried away that he could forget something as important as that. What in hell had he been thinking? He turned an icy glare onto Anzu. "First thing tomorrow you shall go and get the morning after pill." He thought that his tone left no room for argument, but Anzu protested anyway.

"It's fine," she began calmly, but Seto cut her off as he began to pace the room. At any other time the fact that Kaiba was pacing around, furious and naked, would have been amusing, but there was no humour in the situation as it stood.

"No it is NOT fine," he growled, "I can't believe..."

"For heaven's sake, will you shut up and listen to me," Anzu exclaimed as she stood, pulling the thin material of her pyjama top around her, almost like a barrier. "I'm telling you that it's fine. I'm on birth control pills and..."

"What!" Seto was aghast even as he was relieved. "Why the fuck are you on birth control?" he snapped "How many others have you been with before me? How many of your little friends have you fucked and am I going to catch anything?"

Anzu couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stepped forward and slapped Seto hard across the face, stepping back out of range before he could react, continuing to back away as she spoke. "Sex isn't the only reason some girls use birth control," she all but sobbed, then she turned and ran from the room, fat tears running down her cheeks. She ran to the bathroom that Seto had showed her to before, slipping inside and locking the door behind her.

She sat upon the toilet for a moment, staring into space. How had it all gone so horribly wrong? He had been so gentle and caring, making sure that he didn't hurt her during the act, only to rip her heart out afterwards. She cursed herself for being a fool for allowing herself to believe that he could possibly care about her. He was Seto Kaiba after all, the man that had ice for a heart.

She grimaced at the wetness she still felt between her legs and she knew that she had to get clean, she wouldn't feel right until she had cleaned what she now felt was his taint from her skin. She would worry about what she would do afterwards, but for now she needed to get clean.

She stood and walked to the shower cubicle, shucking off her shirt then opening the door and wrestling with the controls for a moment before stepping inside under the steaming, cleansing water and closing the cubicle door behind her. She scrubbed at her skin, trying to removing the taint that she was feeling there, but even if she managed to remove that, she would never recover the tainted experience that had been her first time.

Abruptly her misery overwhelmed her and she sank to the shower floor, heart wrenching sobs wracking her small frame.

How could she have been so stupid as to give herself to someone as cold as Seto Kaiba? How could she have acted so wanton? How could she have trusted him?

She would never forgive herself!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N** - I've tried not to mess with this one too much. I had to edit out a part that was too smutty for the rating and tighten up Kaiba's explanation of what might have happened to Yugi a bit, but I think it's come out OK. :)


	9. Chapter 9

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - If I'd known that I'd get more reviews for NOT posting a sex scene, I would have done it sooner. LOL. But seriously, the** M** rating seems to have been skewed a fair over time bit through non-enforcement of the rules and** M** should not = explicit sex. (Actually, **M** could just as easily stand for violence or swearing.)

For this story, the **M** rating is mainly for a scene later on which, while not expressly a sex scene, is a scene of a strong but not explicit adult nature.

I'm sorry if that disappoints, but those are my feelings on the matter.

But still, thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate them. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto put a hand to his cheek and stood there with stunned disbelief as Anzu yelled at him and fled from the room. Then the disbelief turned to anger. How dare she hit him!

He was about to go after her and demand an apology when what she had said penetrated his anger fogged mind. Girls used birth control for something other than sex? What possible reason could a girl _have_ for being on birth control other than that? Well, he supposed that if she weren't lying then there was a quick way for him to find out the truth. He felt that it was safe to leave her to her own devices whilst he found out as she wouldn't be going far in what she was wearing anyway.

He picked up his pyjama bottoms and put them back on before crossing to the desk on the far side of the room where a computer resided. There were computers in many of the rooms in the Kaiba Mansion as it made it a lot easier for him to get to one in a hurry if he needed to. After all, It wasn't as if the cost were an issue.

He booted the machine, connected to the internet and loaded a search engine. With that done, he did a quick search to find out what he wanted to know.

A few moments later he sat there feeling slightly contrite – or at least as contrite as Seto Kaiba could feel as he had found that there were many reasons for girls to be on birth control other than the obvious. He had accused Anzu of being little more than a slut when he had known deep down that nothing could be further from the truth. She had been nothing but honest with him right from the start of his little scheme, so why would she lie about something as important as that? Such a thing was not in her nature.

He dropped his head into his hands, knowing that he owed her an apology at the very least, but before he could do that he had to find out where she had gone. He knew that it was very unlikely that she would leave the mansion as all she had been wearing was the pyjama top that had never quite been removed during their... lovemaking, so she had to be somewhere not too far away. But he knew that he could look all night and still not find her, so many rooms were there in the Kaiba Mansion.

He left the internet and brought up the CCTV system, winding back a few minutes to find out what he wanted to know. He watched as Anzu slapped and yelled at him before she fled the room, then he followed her flight, just up the corridor to the bathroom she had changed in earlier. At least she hadn't gone far.

Then, unable to resist, he wound the video back again, further this time, to look over the events before that unfortunate blow up. It was a breathtaking sight, Anzu clearly having been very much into it - into him. His eyes drifted shut as he recalled the moment again. In his opinion it had been almost perfect, the only way it could have been more perfect would be if it had happened in his bed rather than on the sofa, especially as there were no cameras in his room...

He snapped his eyes open at that last thought and turned back to the computer, working quickly to remove everything from the moment that Anzu had arrived up until this moment to a securely password protected folder. No-one would see what had happened between them again other than himself. He would not even tell Anzu about it as he was sure that she would not appreciate having been filmed in such an intimate position like that. Maybe he would be able to tell her about it in the future - the far distant future. But that could only occur if their relationship made it any further than tonight.

Finished with his task, he set the machine to shut down then got up and left the room, knowing that he needed to get to Anzu and apologise lest that one perfect moment be all he ever had of her. She had looked extremely upset as she had run from the room and he could not blame her for that. After all, he had just completely ruined what was likely to have been her first time and no matter how cold he could be, he couldn't live with that on his conscience.

He reached the bathroom door and paused outside, listening to find out what was happening within. He could hear the shower running, but even the sound of the running water could not disguise the sound of the heart wrenching sobs coming from the clearly distraught girl.

He rested his head against the door for a moment and sighed. This was one of the reasons why he didn't like to have relationships as he had some trust issues that probably would not be easy to get past, although they had eased somewhat recently, at least with regard to Anzu. He should not have accused her of being little more than a slut and he should have listened to what she had to say instead of just assuming the worst. Instead he had fallen victim to his own insecurities and gone off at her, ruining the precious gift that he had been given.

Despite all this, he did give thought to just leaving her there and going to his room whilst she cried herself out, leaving her to collect her things and make her own way home. He knew that to do such a thing would be the end of everything. He would still be able to hold this over Yugi and, even in the event that Anzu went with Yugi, his rival would always know that he, Seto Kaiba, had been there first. That he had won. Yugi would always be second best, at least in this.

But to never see Anzu again, as a friend or otherwise, was just not palatable. He had enjoyed her company over these last few weeks and, as loath as he was to admit it, he would miss her. To go back to the sterile and lonely existence of Kaiba was a real possibility, but was it the preferable option? He was sorely conflicted. What should he do?

He listened at the door again, ascertaining that Anzu was still in the shower and was still sobbing, then, making his decision, he moved to a panel at the side of the door and deftly disengaged the lock using a system left over from the time of Gozaburo. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his adoptive father and how much he would hate what Seto was about now, but he did his best to put it out of his mind. The old man had no part in this and Seto would not let his memory influence his decisions.

He carefully opened the door, slipping quietly inside and closing it behind him. He crossed to the shower cubicle, noting from the amount of steam that the water was likely to be rather hot and that Anzu was on her knees, arms wrapped around herself, with her head bowed as she cried for what she perceived to be her loss. He sighed, knowing that he had epically fucked this up and he had to at least try to make it up to her.

He slowly opened the shower door, not even bothering to remove his pyjama bottoms, his heart giving a surprising lurch as he noted that the girl was so wrapped up in her grief that she hadn't even noticed him entering. He knelt down beside her and took her into his arms, holding on tightly as she began to struggle.

"I'm sorry," he said lowly. "I have no excuse for my behaviour but I should not have accused you of such awful things. I let my own insecurities getting the better of me. Please forgive me." He meant every word and he hoped that she would understand that.

Anzu stiffened, then relaxed against Seto's bare chest. Seto smiled, knowing that he had eased her pain at least a little and he was likely to be forgiven. Anzu had too big a heart to do anything else.

"Do... do you mean it?" she asked tremulously, her voice rough from all the crying she had done. She found it hard to believe that he was apologising to her, that he was exposing himself like this. "You... believe me?"

"I do believe you," Seto said, deliberately omitting that he had looked on the internet for answers. Admitting to that would do no good at this juncture. "It is not in your nature to lie or to be... that kind of girl and I am sorry for accusing you. Really."

Anzu looked up at him with watery eyes, then, having seen what she wanted, she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm glad," she whispered. "I thought that you hated me, that you had used me."

Seto almost flinched, but caught himself in time before he gave himself away. Yes, he had been using her, but things had changed. "I don't hate you, Anzu, far from it and I'm sorry that I ruined the experience for you," he said as he pulled away, avoiding the other part of the accusation. He got up and helped her to her feet. "It was your first time, wasn't it?"

Anzu couldn't bring herself to answer that, but the blush on her features as she looked away told Seto all that he needed to know.

"Come on," he said, shutting the water off and pulling Anzu out from the cubicle. He passed her a large fluffy towel to dry herself on and also got one for himself then once they were dry - and Seto had removed his soaked pyjama bottoms - they donned soft robes and Seto led her from the room.

"Where are we going?" Anzu asked, noting that they were heading away from the lounge room where they were having their 'sleepover'.

"I thought that we should spend the rest of the night in my bed as it will be far more comfortable than sleeping in the lounge." He stopped and looked frankly at her, "Unless, of course, you are not comfortable with that? We can spend the rest of the night back there or you can sleep in one of the spare rooms if you would prefer..."

Anzu smiled, the first time she had since Seto had unfairly accused her. "No, I'll be happy to share your bed with you," she said with a blush. "Staying in a spare room just wouldn't feel right after..."

Seto squeezed her hand and led her the rest of the way to his room where they were shortly in his bed, snuggled together under the blue and white covers and sleeping peacefully.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next morning Anzu awoke to the unfamiliar feeling of something lying on her chest. She blinked herself awake to see chestnut coloured locks and the features – angelic in sleep – of Seto Kaiba. She gasped as everything came rushing back to her, from their first heated kiss to his wrongful accusations and later the making up in the shower. He had apologised so sincerely and made sure that she was OK when she would not have put it past him to throw her things at her and yell at her to get out. Well, maybe she would have thought that once upon a time, but now she knew a different side to the normally cool CEO and she knew that he had... issues.

Looking down at the person cuddling her in her sleep like she was some kind of giant plush, she couldn't reconcile that with the cold exterior he showed to the rest of the world. She hoped that he would not regret things in the cold light of day. She knew that there were myriad ways that this could go horribly wrong once Seto woke up and she used the next few moments to think up many possible scenarios and how they would play out, but she didn't get too far. She must have moved a little or maybe her breathing patterns had alerted him as to her wakefulness, but suddenly he was looking at her with an intense gaze.

"Ah, good morning, Seto," she said warmly, doing her best to keep any nervousness firmly hidden away. She worried when Seto didn't say anything for several long moments and she began to feel uncomfortable under his regard. She hadn't seen the point at being embarrassed at her nakedness, not after what they had done last night, but nevertheless she began to quail as he continued to stare at her with that intense gaze. Then she was surprised as he leaned forwards and kissed her soundly.

Anzu's arms came up to pull him close as they engaged in a heated makeout session, but seeing as they were naked in bed together, one thing inevitably led to another and things were soon moving in a similar direction to the way they had the previous evening.

Seto pulled away from the kiss and looked Anzu in the eyes. "Oh, you don't know what you are doing to me," he said, then he dropped his head to her shoulder as he finished speaking.

"Oh, I don't know, "Anzu said with a smirk in her voice. "I think I have a pretty good idea." Abruptly he pulled away from her embrace and her grasp, moving over her. It was obvious as to what was going to happen next and Anzu certainly had no objections.

The next several minutes were filled with gasps and moans, then once they had both reached their peak, Seto dropped to the side of Anzu, gathering her close as she recovered from their exertion.

"Ah, now that is more like the way to wake up in the mornings," Seto said once he had got his breath back. "I take it that this sort of thing doesn't usually happen on a sleepover?"

"No," Anzu said with a chuckle. "I think we well and truly left the 'sleepover' label behind last night." She turned more sober. "But... what do we do from here?" She put the ball in Seto's court as she did not want to come across as too needy and she knew that she could not assume a thing when it came to what Seto Kaiba might want.

"I want to be with you," he said as he pulled her close, burying his face into her hair.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I want to be with you too," she said as she settled into his embrace.

"But we will have to keep it a secret," Seto said flatly.

"Really?" Anzu was surprised. "Why?"

"First and foremost, the press will tear you apart," Seto said, holding on to her possessively. "They will dig for every scrap of dirt they can find on you and make things up where they can't find anything. And that is not even mentioning the hordes of fangirls that will suddenly have it in for you." He moved so that he could look her in the eye. "I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you."

Anzu's heart melted all over again. He really did care for her in his own way. However, she knew that what she said next may just throw a spanner in the works. "I do understand, but I will still need to tell Yugi about us," she said, steeling herself for Seto's possible reaction.

"Why?" he asked, propping himself up so that he could look down on her.

"Because he is my dear friend and I need to tell him," she said.

"But... are you not worried that this might hurt him?" he asked. "Everyone knows that he holds a torch for you." Inside he was gloating. This way he wouldn't even need to brag to Yugi that he'd got the girl. The girl in question could do it for herself and thanks to that, he would be able to keep her into the bargain.

"That is _why _I need to tell him," she said firmly. "It will be better for him to hear it from me than from someone else, or even worse, the press." She shook her head. "I owe it to him. Really."

"I don't know..." Seto said. He knew that he had to make a token protest over this or it may well look suspicious and he couldn't have that.

"Well, you are going to tell Mokuba, aren't you?" she pointed out, crossing her arms defensively, something that looked rather odd as she lay in the bed.

"Of course I will, he's my brother!" Seto exclaimed, stunned that she could ask something like that.

"But Yugi is like a brother to me, or the closest thing I have to a brother anyway," Anzu pointed out. "I know that he has wanted us to be more than that, but I can't help that I don't feel that way. And I do owe it to him to tell him this myself."

"Fine, you can tell him," Seto said reluctantly, "but make sure he keeps it to himself. No one else is to know." Even as he made that concession, he knew that Yugi would tell his shadow, the mutt, regardless. But it probably wouldn't go any further than that. He hoped.

"Thank you Seto," Anzu said, leaning up to give him a kiss on the lips. She made to pull away, but he snared her into a closer embrace and kissed her thoroughly. Gods, she thought that she would never be able to get enough of his kisses, there was something about them that could reduce her to a blob of quivering jelly.

"Big brother, where are all the staff?" Mokuba yelled as he slammed the door open and bounced into the room, "and why is the living room in such a..." he tailed off as he realised that something wasn't right here, "mess," he finished pathetically.

"Mokuba," Seto said coolly, sitting up as Anzu hid herself under the covers in embarrassment. "What are you doing home already?"

"Uh... most of the morning is already gone and Daisuke's mother had to go and do some shopping so I asked her to drop me off on the way," Mokuba said, a glazed expression on his face. "Seto, who is in bed with you?" He asked the question in a deceptively innocent way, but Seto knew full well that Mokuba was doing this to make the girl in his bed as uncomfortable as possible.

"Now is not the appropriate time to be asking such questions," Seto said firmly. "You'll get to meet her shortly if you'll allow us the privacy to get showered and changed."

"Fine, fine," Mokuba held his hands up, "I'm going." He fixed his brother with a glare that was befitting of any Kaiba, "but I do want an explanation." He didn't wait for Seto to say anything else, but simply left the room in a huff.

Seto sighed as the door closed behind the younger Kaiba. "Well, that could have gone better," he mused.

"Do you think he'll be OK?" Anzu asked, poking her head out from under the covers now that they were alone. "I don't want to cause a rift between you two."

"He'll be fine when he realises that it's you," Seto said, pulling the covers back and getting out of bed. "Shower?" he asked by way of changing the subject.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Anzu agreed as she got out of bed herself. However, she wasn't about to let Seto get off the hook so easily. "But what do you mean that he'll be OK when he realises it's me?"

Seto shook his head with wry amusement. He should have known that she wouldn't let it go. "It's nothing much," he said as he led Anzu to the bathroom. "He's often said that I should get a girlfriend and he said that I should find someone like you." He smirked at her." He's probably upset because he thinks I got some floozy into bed for a quick romp."

"Oh," Anzu was slightly taken aback. "I guess that's not so bad then." She waited for Seto to set the shower to the correct temperature, then she stepped inside. "You're not going to join me?" she asked as she noted that Seto had donned his robe and was making ready to leave.

"I'm heading to the living room to pick up your case and your clothes," Seto said, "unless, of course you want to walk around naked all day," he leered at her, "although I wouldn't mind that."

"Pervert," Anzu said with a smile. "But... thanks. I'd completely forgotten about that."

"I shall return shortly then," he said, then he left the room. As expected, he ran into Mokuba right outside his bedroom door.

"Seto, what the hell do you think you are doing?" he hissed. "I thought you were going to find a girlfriend, not bed some hanger on."

"You are right," Seto said, looking down upon his little brother, "and she is not some floozy or hanger on. She is my girlfriend."

"Really?" Mokuba was openly sceptical. "How come this is the first time I've heard about it then?" He glared at Seto, letting the older brother know that he would not be fobbed off.

Seto heaved a sigh. "It's... complicated," he said. "We've been keeping things on the quiet, but we were actually discussing telling you before you... barged in."

"Oh," Mokuba was taken aback by that, but then he brightened. "So... what's her name? What's she like? What's..."

"Mokuba!" Seto exclaimed, cutting his sibling off. "You can meet her at lunch," he smirked, "and I can guarantee that you will like her, but right now I need to fetch her case from the lounge."

"OK Seto," Mokuba said, knowing that he would get no further with his brother for now, "but what are we going to do for lunch? There's no staff here to make anything."

Seto face-palmed. This was something that he hadn't considered when he had sent the staff home for the weekend. "Don't worry about it," he said, "we'll sort something out."

Mokuba nodded and went off to his room. Seto went to the living room and spent a few minutes straightening everything out before retrieving Anzu's case and returning to his bedroom where Anzu was just stepping out of the en-suite bathroom, a towel wrapped around her.

"What's up?" she asked as Seto clearly had a hint of disappointment on his face.

"I was waylaid by Mokuba outside the door," he explained, "and by the time I had tidied the living room a touch I'd missed my chance to watch you in the shower."

"Pervert," she said fondly, crossing to him and leaning up to kiss him on the lips, "but I'm sure you'll get a chance to do so in the future."

"I suppose you are right," he admitted grudgingly. "Your case is on the bed," he told her, "I won't be long." With that said, Seto entered the bathroom and made to shower quickly. He hurriedly brushed his teeth then returned to the bedroom to find Anzu already dressed and waiting for him to leave the bathroom.

"I just need to brush my teeth," she said, brandishing the implement as she moved to go past Seto and into the bathroom.

"You didn't have to wait for me to get out, you know," Seto pointed out with some amusement. "It's not like we should have anything to be bashful about after last night and this morning, not after..." he grinned as he caused her to blush.

"I know that," She said with a snort. "I only found it out as you were done and besides," she gave a grin, "it would hardly be fair if I got to look when you didn't."

"You have a point," he conceded, "I shall see you in a minute then." Once she had left the room, he quickly dressed, simply going for his usual dark trousers and top combo, but this time not bothering with all the buckles.

Once Anzu returned from the bathroom, she had a question. "So... how is Mokuba?"

"He's fine, but I was right," he said, "he was upset because he thought I was bedding some floozy rather than obtaining a... proper girlfriend." He turned a war look onto Anzu. "I reassured him that you are a proper girlfriend and told him that he will meet you at lunch."

"Oh..." Anzu sounded unsure. "I take it you didn't tell him that it was me?" When Seto shook his head, she continued, "are you sure he'll be OK with this?"

"I'm positive," Seto said, "although there may be one small problem."

"What is it?" Anzu asked worriedly.

Seto had the grace to look at least somewhat embarrassed. "I forgot that I gave the staff the weekend off and so there is no-one here to make lunch," he said. "Mokuba and myself are hardly cooks so..." he looked hopefully at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I can make something for lunch," she said with a smile. "Just lead me back to the kitchen and I'll do my best." She held her hand out for Seto to take. Yes, she could probably have found her way – eventually – but getting the chance to hold Seto's hand was something she wasn't about to miss out on.

Things might just work out after all.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
><strong>

**A/N** - I had to really work on the first part of this as I wanted to try and show some of Kaiba's conflicting thoughts in the aftermath of the previous chapter. Before editing, it was far too simple. It's probably still too simple, but then I'm not a fan of non-communication plots, you know, the ones that are driven by characters going out of their way to misunderstand things and not talk to each other, meaning that they never resolve something that would be really easily sorted out _if only they would talk to each other_.

Also, I'm still trying not to overthink things...

Ah well, it is what it is and it's pretty much how the story went in my head, so thank you for reading. :)


	10. Chapter 10

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

Thank you for your reviews. I really do appreciate them all. I know that I can go off into what seems to be weird plot tangents on occasion and I hope I don't put too many of you off. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto dutifully took Anzu's hand and led her from his room and down the winding corridors to the kitchen. He watched with appreciation as she rummaged through the fridge and several cupboards in order to find the ingredients she needed.

"Is pizza good for you?" she asked. "Anything other than that would probably take too long."

"Whatever you want to make is fine by me," Seto said. Anzu nodded then he continued to watch as she flew around the kitchen. Soon, much sooner than Seto had expected, the pizza was prepared and in the oven and Anzu was putting together a salad to go on the side.

"Lunch will be ready in about 10 minutes," she said as she quickly chopped a tomato, "so you might want to call Mokuba down."

Seto nodded and pulled his cellphone from his pocket, hitting a speed dial number. "Mokuba," he said as the call was answered, "Lunch will be ready in about 10 minutes so could you get washed up please." he waited for Mokuba to confirm that he would, then he hung up to find Anzu staring incredulously at him. "What?"

"You call Mokuba on the phone when he is in the same house?" she asked.

Seto shrugged. "You've seen how big this house is," he said. "It's not like I can call up the stairs so using the phone is the next best thing."

"I'd have thought that you'd have an intercom," she said.

"There is one," Seto said, "but it can be unreliable or Mokuba may not be in the room. If I call him on the phone at least I can be sure that he has got the message."

"What happens if he leaves it behind or the batteries die?"

"Then I have to go and find him," Seto said. "If that happens he knows that I won't be pleased so he makes sure that he keeps his phone fully charged and on him at all times."

"That makes sense, I guess." She shook her head. "What are we drinking?" she asked by way of changing the subject, "and where will we be eating?"

"We'll eat in the small dining room next door and I think I spotted some sparkling juice whilst you were raiding the fridge. That should go well," Seto supplied.

"Could you set the table then please," she gave a wide grin, "or is such a thing beneath you?"

"No, I think I can manage to do that much," Seto said, opening a drawer to obtain some cutlery. He left the room for a moment, then returned to obtain glasses and the juice.

Anzu had just finished serving the pizza, when Mokuba arrived, a wary look upon his face that quickly gave way to shock.

"Anzu?" Mokuba was stunned. "What..." he turned to Seto, "What is going on?" he demanded.

"Sit down and eat your pizza, Mokuba," Seto said. "Anzu was kind enough to prepare it for us so we can sit and eat before it goes cold."

"Anzu, you made pizza?" Mokuba's eyes lit up. "Awesome!" He rushed to his seat, ready to dig in, but before he started, he gave both of them a stern look. "You're not getting out of explaining this, though."

Seto noticed that Anzu paled and looked down. "Mokuba, you are making Anzu uncomfortable," he pointed out.

"Sorry, Anzu," Mokuba said contritely. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine," she said, giving Mokuba a small smile. "Now dig in before it gets cold."

With that said they bent to their meal, but Anzu was still feeling quite uncomfortable, especially as there was a complete dearth of conversation.

Seto noted that Anzu's discomfiture had not abated and realised that the now oppressive silence was not helping. "This pizza is really good," he said by way of trying to make her feel better. "My compliments to the chef."

"Thank you, Seto," Anzu said with a blush, "but it was nothing really."

"Rubbish," Mokuba said with gusto. "your pizzas are always amazing."

"You've had pizza made by Anzu before?" Seto asked, eyebrow raised.

"Hell yes!" Mokuba exclaimed with a grin. "She always makes them for Movie Night, at least when I've been allowed to attend and I can tell you that they are always gone in a flash."

"I can imagine," Seto said wryly, looking towards Anzu. "So how many do you have to make for the mutt to eat on his own?"

"Be nice, Seto," Anzu said. "Jonouchi doesn't eat more than any of the others." She stopped and appeared to consider for a moment. "Well, not much more anyway."

Mokuba knew that Seto didn't want him to bring it up yet, but he had to. "So... you and Anzu?" he looked confused. "Not that I disapprove, but," he looked at Anzu, "what will your friends think? Especially Yugi?"

"That is one of the reasons that we have kept our... association... on the quiet," Seto explained. "We both know that some of the group would not approve."

"And everyone seems to expect that I should be with Yugi," Anzu added sadly. "Like they think it's his due or something." She shook her head. "I can only ever think of Yugi as a good friend, or maybe like a brother. I can't think of him in any other way at all."

"But isn't he bound to find out about this eventually?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes, I know that's inevitable," Anzu said, looking a little stressed, "and that is why I am going to tell him as soon as I can."

"You won't say anything, will you Mokuba?" Seto said sternly. "This is Anzu's secret to tell and she feels that it is her duty to tell him for herself."

"I can understand that," Mokuba said, "and I think Yugi will be OK with it eventually but I'm not so sure about the rest, especially Jonouchi. You know how he feels about you, Seto."

"How the mutt feels is of little consequence to me," Seto said off handedly, "beyond whether he upsets or otherwise makes life difficult for Anzu of course."

"He'll have to come around sooner or later," Anzu said, obviously with more conviction than she was currently feeling. She sighed. "I just know that Yugi is going to be so upset."

"So how on earth did you two get together?" Mokuba asked. "No offence, but really, this is the last thing that I would have expected to happen."

"Anzu came to tell me off after I challenged Yugi on the journey back from Egypt," Seto said. "We came to an... understanding, then went out a few times and... here we are." Seto grabbed Anzu's hand under the table and squeezed it, causing her to blush and smile.

"Hang on a moment," Mokuba said, "What about..." he tailed off, not wanting to say anything that might upset Anzu, but he really needed to know about the blonde woman with glasses that Seto had taken to that business function the previous weekend. But then he remembered that it had been all over the papers and unless she was totally oblivious, Anzu had to know about it already. "What about that Kisa woman you took out last weekend?"

"Ah, Kisa," Seto said with a smirk. "That, Mokuba, was Anzu."

"You're kidding?" Mokuba gasped. "I didn't recognise her at all!"

"That was the general idea," Anzu supplied. "We went out the weekend before that and Seto was similarly disguised."

"What, you mean he was wearing a dress?" Mokuba laughed.

"Very funny, Mokuba," Seto said, even as Anzu giggled beside him. "But we are going to go out today as well, although I don't think a disguise will be required this time." He turned to Anzu. "Antoine Pierre wants to see 'Kisa' dance again, so I have made the appropriate arrangements."

"What!" Anzu was aghast at this bombshell. "Why didn't you tell me this before now?" She looked at Seto accusingly.

"The time was not appropriate," Seto said, "and I didn't want you to worry about it and spoil our evening."

"Well, I'm worrying about it now," she said frantically. "I haven't had time to prepare, I..." she looked at Seto with panic, "is he expecting to see Kisa or Anzu?" she asked.

"I did warn him that Kisa was actually a disguise so he shouldn't be expecting anything in particular," Seto said.

"When do we have to be there?" Anzu asked, calming a touch.

"In an hour or two," Seto said nonchalantly. "We have plenty of time."

"But... I'm not dressed appropriately and..." Anzu gasped again.

"Anzu," Seto squeezed her hand, trying to calm her panic, "you are fine as you are, really."

"Can I come?" Mokuba piped up. "I'd really like to see you dance, Anzu."

"Thank you Mokuba," Anzu said, beginning to get hold of herself again. "I think I could use the extra moral support."

Seto was a little peeved that Anzu had pre-empted him somewhat, but he held his tongue. It was only fair, especially as he had just dropped that massive bombshell on her with no warning. He watched with confusion as Anzu got up and began clearing the plates. "You don't have to do that," he said. "That's what we have staff for."

Anzu gave him a frank look. "Unless I am very much mistaken, there are no staff here right now as you gave them the weekend off. It would be very rude of me to use the kitchen and not clean up after myself, guest or not. And I know that cooks can be very territorial over their kitchens so I don't want to get on their bad side before I've even met them."

"She does have a point," Mokuba agreed. "Miss Chisa gets really upset if her kitchen is in a mess."

"Well, that settles it then," Anzu said decisively. "It won't take me long." She finished gathering the plates and cutlery then she disappeared into the kitchen. That left Seto and Mokuba sitting alone in the dining room.

"Seto, what the hell are you thinking?" Mokuba said. "I know I said you should get a girlfriend and preferably someone like Anzu, but I didn't expect you to go out and get Anzu herself!" He gave Seto a sidelong look. "You didn't do this to get at Yugi, did you?" The accusation was thick in his voice.

Seto shook his head. He should have known that Mokuba would end up thinking along those lines. He was a Kaiba after all. "It may have started out that way," he admitted quietly, not wanting to lie to his brother but also not wanting Anzu to overhear, "but now..." he trailed off and looked at the ceiling. "It's different now."

Mokuba gave him a sceptical look. It appeared that Seto had it bad, but knowing how ruthless his brother could be, Mokuba wasn't about to take anything for granted. "Just don't hurt her, Seto," he entreated. "Anzu is one of my precious friends and she really doesn't deserve that."

"I'll do my best," Seto said, standing along with Mokuba as Anzu returned. He really did mean it too.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Isono had returned to work as Anzu had finished clearing the lunch things away, Seto having arranged for him to come back in time for them to make their journey.

The ride to meet Antoine Pierre was quite strained, Anzu noted. Obviously something had passed between the brothers whilst she had been clearing away and she was almost certain that it had something to do with her. She felt that she had to break the silence as it was becoming too oppressive, but she didn't quite know what to say.

"Um... did I do something?" she asked uncertainly after a few more moments.

"What do you mean?" Kaiba said coolly. She winced at his tone.

"I mean... this... silence," she said, indicating the three of them. "I really don't want to come between you guys so..."

"I'm sorry, Anzu" Mokuba spoke up, causing Seto to look sharply at him. "I questioned Seto's motives for being with you and he did not take it very well." He turned to his brother. "Sorry Seto," he apologised. "I like Anzu and I like the idea of you having someone other than me to share your life with. Anzu is perfect, really."

"Thank you Mokuba," Seto said, inclining his head, then he found himself with a lapful of young Kaiba.

"And that is why I don't want to come between you guys," Anzu said, looking at them embracing with a melancholy air, "your relationship is way too important for that." Seto and Mokuba looked at each other, then at Anzu, as one opening their arms for her to join the embrace. Anzu hesitated, not sure what to do.

"Come on, big sister," Mokuba said with a smile. Anzu jolted at being called that, then smiled in return and joined them on the other side of the car. At least the silence was broken now and she thanked heavens that Isono was at the wheel. If Seto had been driving then this conversation could not have taken place and things would likely have been strained for quite a while longer.

Shortly they arrived at the studio where they would meet with Antoine Pierre and Seto led a nervous Anzu along with an exuberant Mokuba inside.

"Ah, Seto," Antoine said as he greeted the CEO by kissing him soundly on the cheek, "and young Mokuba too. I see you have grown since the last time I saw you."

"It's good to see you too, Antoine," Mokuba said, bouncing excitedly.

Antoine looked confused as his eyes lit upon Anzu. "I thought you were bringing Kisa to see me," he wondered. "But who is this lovely young lady."

"This is Anzu Mazaki," Kaiba said. "I already explained that she was masquerading as Kisa for the sole purpose of the business function. Her friends would never have understood, so the subterfuge was necessary."

"Ah, forbidden love. How romantic," Antoine said with a touch of the dramatic. "It is lovely to meet you again, my dear," he greeted the blushing girl as he kissed her hand.

"It is good to meet you too," Anzu said, trying her hardest not to gush.

"I do hope that you are keeping young Seto on his toes," Antoine said with a twinkle in his eye.

"I do my best," Anzu said with a smile, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... how do you know Seto?"

"He didn't tell you?" Antoine asked with surprise. "Why, I'm the one who taught him how to dance."

"Really?" Anzu asked looking over at Seto.

"That is true," Seto said. "Gozaburo," no-one missed the grimace that passed over Seto's features as he mentioned his late adoptive father, "called Antoine in as it was necessary for me to learn and he wanted the best." Seto gave a wry smile, "It has to be said that Antoine had his work well and truly cut out for him."

"Yes," Antoine nodded sagely. "For someone cursed with two left feet he really has come a long way." He clapped his hands, "So... can you dance for me, Anzu, my dear?"

"I don't have anything with me," Anzu said apologetically. "Seto only sprang this on me a couple of hours ago and I was not in a position to be able to prepare."

"That will not be a problem," Seto said. "Isono," Seto summoned his ever-present personal servant, "could you bring the bag from the back of the car?"

"Yes sir," the stoic man replied, bowing and then leaving the room. He returned a couple of moments later with a black bag in tow. "I take it that this is the correct one, sir?"

"It is, thank you, Isono," Seto said, then he turned to Anzu. "You should find everything that you need in there.

"Thank you Seto," Anzu said, flushing again. She knew the items in the bag would fit as Seto was nothing if not thorough. "Where should I go to change?" she asked.

"If you just pop through there," Antoine indicated a door with his cane, "you'll find some changing rooms on the left."

"Thank you," Anzu said politely. She left to change, giving Antoine and the Kaiba brothers chance to talk.

"Does she attend a dancing school?" Antoine asked, a worried edge to his voice.

"I know that she does take lessons," Seto said, inclining his head.

"Yeah, she goes two or three times a week," Mokuba piped up.

"Do you know which dance school she attends?" Antoine asked.

"She's never told anyone," Mokuba said, shaking his head. "She made out that Jonouchi and Honda might show up and spoil things for her, but I got the impression that there was more to it than that."

"It is not unreasonable to assume that the mutt would do such a thing," Seto said.

"Which is why she used it as an excuse I guess," Mokuba shrugged. "Something felt off about it though."

"I see," Antoine said. "The only reason I ask is because I've never seen Anzu at any of the dance schools around Domino and I do the rounds fairly often. One never knows where Talent may be found, after all. But never mind that for now," he said brightening. "I am quite looking forward to putting her though her paces. From what I saw at the function last week, she should be quite amazing. We can ask her about the rest afterwards."

Anzu returned at that point. She was wearing a light blue leotard and soft dance shoes. Seto's mouth went dry as he took in her toned figure. She really was beautiful.

"Alright, Anzu my dear," Antoine said in a tone that brought Seto back to his senses, "let's put you through your paces." He crossed to a stereo on the far side of the room and switched it on. "First warm up then show me what you can do."

Anzu did her warm up exercises, then started dancing, hesitantly at first, but she soon found her rhythm and began to lose herself in the music. Antoine gave instructions at various intervals, punctuated with a wave of his cane and Anzu followed those instructions, impeccably doing whatever he asked of her. Seto swelled with pride as he realised that Anzu wasn't just good, she was seriously talented.

"OK, now cool down," Antoine said with a clap of his hands. Anzu dutifully went through her cooling down exercises, then crossed to where he was standing with Seto and Mokuba. Mokuba held out a bottle of water which Anzu gratefully took and drained.

"I must say," Antoine began, "that I am most impressed, but I am left wondering..." he gave Anzu a puzzled look, "I often visit the dance studios in the area, but I have never seen you before. Whose classes do you attend?"

Anzu looked worried. "I... I attend Madame Kazuki's dance school three times a week," she said, uncertainty clear in her voice.

"Really?" Antoine was surprised. "But I was only there just last week. I didn't see you and I would definitely have remembered a talent such as yours."

Anzu looked at the ground. Antoine and Seto looked at each other with some alarm. Mokuba had been right. There was something going on here. "Anzu?" Seto said, prompting her.

"Madame Kazuki..." Anzu began, then she paused and sighed. "She... she keeps me out of the way when any talent scouts come around."

"But why would she do that?" Mokuba asked. "You're really good!"

"Jealousy," Anzu stated. "The other girls..." she sighed, "they are mostly rich and spoiled and they can't stand that I'm better than them." She shook her head. "Madame Kazuki panders to their whims because they pay her a lot more than I could ever afford to."

"Well!" The outrage was clear to hear in Antoine's voice, "We cannot be having that!" He frowned, "Madame Kazuki should be promoting a talent such as yours, not hiding it away. This is an utter scandal and I won't stand for it!" He punctuated that with a harsh tap of his cane on the wooden floor.

"Well, you've seen me now," Anzu said, "so surely that should be the end of it."

"So you want to let that Kazuki woman get away with what she's done to you?" Mokuba demanded in outrage. "That's not right!"

"You are quite correct about that," Antoine said. "I certainly won't be letting it lie and I shall be having stern words with that woman."

"Actually, I have a better idea," Seto interjected. "We should expose her." There was no way that Seto would let anyone hurt what was his and get away with it. The strength of these feelings surprised him with their intensity, but he pushed them to one side and looked at Anzu kindly. "That is... if it would be OK with you, Anzu."

"I don't know..." Anzu said, obviously worried about any potential repercussions.

"Don't worry about what she might try to do to you," Seto said. "She wouldn't dare try to cross us, especially once we are done with her."

"Alright," Anzu said. If Seto said that she wouldn't be able to try anything, she would believe him. "So... what is it that you have in mind?" she asked, feeling a little better.

"That's more like it," Seto gave an evil looking grin. "Now, this is what we shall do..."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
><strong>

Thank you for reading. :)


	11. Chapter 11

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next afternoon, after school, found Anzu arriving at Madame Kazuki's dance studio. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't worried over what was supposed to happen this evening, but she knew that no matter what happened, Seto and Antoine would pull her through.

As she had expected, Madame Kazuki accosted her as soon as she walked through the door. "Mazaki," she hissed, "you are to head upstairs and practice alone for tonight."

"Why is that, Madame," she asked deferentially. Of course she knew exactly why, but she needed the woman to actually say it out loud.

"Why do you think, you stupid girl?" Madame Kazuki sneered, then she clasped her hands and it were as though stars appeared in her eyes, "Antoine Pierre has told me that he will be coming here tonight in order to try and find some new talent that he has heard about," she gave Anzu a disparaging look, "and I don't want the likes of you showing up my real students. Now be off with you. He will be here soon and I don't want him to see you."

"Yes, Madame Kazuki," Anzu said with a sigh, then she walked upstairs. However, she sustained herself with the knowledge that this would be the last time that Madame Kazuki could treat her in such a manner. Seto would have recorded that conversation via the wire in her bag ensuring that the woman could not deny a thing!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto Kaiba walked into the building that housed Madame Kazuki's dance class along with Antoine Pierre. Mokuba was not with them. The boy had wanted to come, but Seto had forbidden it, especially as they were not sure as to what exactly they would be dealing with. Mokuba had acquiesced to Seto's wishes with ill grace, but he made sure to extract the promise of a full report once Seto returned home.

Seto tried to keep a neutral expression, although he was finding it rather difficult after hearing first hand how Madame Kazuki had treated Anzu. She should have been using Anzu to promote their school, such was her talent, but they had been failing to do so thanks to the corruption inherent in the children of the upper classes and so she was unjustly being hidden away.

But no more. That would end tonight.

"Ah, Mr Pierre, Mr Kaiba," Madame Kazuki approached the two men with a smile upon her face. "It is so good to see you both."

"Likewise," Antoine said, leaning forwards to kiss the flowery flowing woman on the cheek as Seto stood silently to one side. Seto being silent wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but he had made a conscious decision to stay more or less in the background – at least to start with – lest he inadvertently put the woman on edge.

"Would you gentlemen like to join me for a drink before we see what my girls have to offer?" the woman simpered, turning Seto's stomach.

"Unfortunately, we are a little pressed for time tonight," Antoine said, knowing that Seto was wound pretty tightly and was wanting to get this over with and Anzu out of there as quickly as possible. "So, if the girls are ready?"

"The girls are currently warming up so I can have them gathered and ready to perform in a couple of minutes," Madame Kazuki said. "I know that they are very much looking forward to dancing for you and they will surely show their best." She led them into a room where there were chairs set up specifically for the visiting men. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I will be back with the girls shortly."

Seto and Antoine watched her leave and they cast a significant look at each other. They both knew for a fact, thanks to the wire, that Anzu would not be among the assembled girls tonight, but they still had to go through with the charade for maximum effect. The girls walked in a couple of minutes later and they were unsurprised to see that Anzu was indeed nowhere to be seen. Seto scowled, but held his tongue – for now. Now was certainly not the time to let their plans be known.

Madame Kazuki walked back over to the two visitors and sat down. She clapped her hands. "Sayaka, you may start first, if you please."

Sayaka nodded and moved to centre stage, beginning her dance as Madame Kazuki played the music. The girls performed for a couple of minutes apiece, Seto becoming more and more dissatisfied with each performance, but that was nothing compared to Antoine who was openly critiquing each girl as she danced, causing one to stop and burst into tears.

Finally, the last girl had performed and Madame Kazuki turned to the two watching men, doing her best to ignore Seto's thunderous expression. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked, looking at Antoine with worried expectation.

"Hmm..." Antoine appeared to muse over what he had seen, "I don't think so," he said. "None of them seem to have that special something I am looking for."

Kaiba decided that it was time to put their plan into action and speak up. "But we haven't seen all the dancers yet," he speared Madame Kazuki with a chilly look, "have we, Madame?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Madame Kazuki said, clearly flustered. "I don't have any other dancers that are worth your notice."

"What about Anzu Mazaki?" Kaiba demanded.

"Oh, there is someone else then?" Antoine said, looking hopefully at Madame Kazuki.

"She's not here tonight," the woman outright lied.

"Yes, she is here," Kaiba ground out as he continued to glare coldly at the woman. "I saw her come in the door just as we were arriving."

"You saw her?" Madame Kazuki gasped. "But wait, How do you know her?"

"Anzu Mazaki is a classmate of mine," Kaiba informed her, "and I happen to know for a fact that she is at least somewhat talented."

"Oh, that sounds good," Antoine said. "Bring her out," he demanded imperiously.

"But..." Madame Kazuki was about to protest again, but Antoine cut her off.

"Mr. Kaiba obviously came here specifically to see his classmate perform," he said, joining Kaiba's glare with one of his own. "She will dance and, good or bad, we will judge her talent for ourselves if you would be so kind." That may have sounded like a request, but Madame Kazuki knew that it was anything but.

"Fine. I shall fetch the girl," she said reluctantly, getting up and leaving the room. Kaiba gave Antoine a significant look before getting up and following the woman from the room.

The girls, who had been standing to one side, seemingly forgotten, saw their chances to get directly at the an who held the key to all their dancing dreams, so he spent several long tedious minutes fielding questions as to why they weren't good enough and why he thought he should bother with an obvious loser like Mazaki.

In the end, Antoine had felt that he'd had no choice but to leave the room himself in order to wait for Madame Kazuki's return. He was determined to have words with the woman about instilling proper decorum into her dancers and not to foster any sense of entitlement with them.

Honestly, the longer he was here, the worse the place looked. The sooner they could get Anzu out of there the better.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Kaiba quietly waited until the muttering Madame Kazuki had gone up a flight of stairs, then walked out of the door and back to the car. He wanted to hear exactly what passed between Anzu and that awful woman, to make sure that she would not do anything untoward.

He heard as Madame Kazuki entered the same room that Anzu was in and Seto listened in carefully to hear what the woman had to say.

xo xo

"Good, you are warmed up and ready," Madame Kazuki said as she entered the room, an unkind edge to her voice. "It would seem that our guests tonight have somehow heard that you attend my class. Why would that be?" She asked that in a most accusing way.

"I couldn't say," Anzu said. "I really have no idea how Mr. Pierre could possibly have heard of me." She was careful not to mention Seto as Madame Kazuki had not mentioned him earlier and for her to do so now would be suspicious.

"It was the young man he was with that mentioned you by name," Madame Kazuki narrowed her eyes. "One Seto Kaiba."

"Oh!" Anzu affected surprise. "I share classes with Kaiba at school and he seems to have his own means of finding things out."

"Hmm..." Madame Kazuki said suspiciously. "Well, your story does match what he said... but that is of no matter. You are to get yourself downstairs and you are to dance badly. Do you understand?" The woman's tone of voice spoke of vicious retribution if Anzu did not do as she was told.

"Yes Madame," Anzu said contritely, but inside she was singing. This was it. Her moment to shine in front of her peers, whether they liked it or not. She could hardly contain herself.

xo xo

Seto quickly left the car and re-entered the building, having heard what he needed to. He'd didn't think that Madame Kazuki would harm Anzu physically to stop her from dancing, but he wouldn't put anything past that sort. He silently vowed that if Anzu were somehow mysteriously hurt before appearing in front of them, that he would dismantle the woman's school piece by piece!

Seto ran into Antoine at the bottom of the stairs. "What the matter?" he asked, taking in the angry demeanour of the man.

"I could not stay in that room a moment longer!" Antoine said dramatically, although in this case, Seto suspected that he wasn't exaggerating. "It was like sitting in a nest of vipers," he continued. "I don't know what Madame Kazuki has been filling their heads with, but they all seemed to think that they were somehow entitled to become my protege just because they had the privilege to perform in front of me. It was most unbecoming."

"Hmm... sounds typical of the corruption caused by having an overly indulgent and rich parent to me," Seto observed. "But we shouldn't have to stay here too much longer. Anzu will be making an appearance soon."

"Oh good," Antoine said. "I suppose we'd better go back in then." The reluctance in his voice was clear to hear.

"Yes, we had better," Seto said, leading the way back in. He was to be surprised to find that not only had Antoine NOT been exaggerating, but that he had somewhat understated the case as he was immediately accosted by several girls trying to foist themselves upon him. But he was Seto Kaiba and he was not about to stand for that kind of thing.

"Stop this nonsense now!" he boomed, causing the girls to stop and shrink back a bit. "What on earth do you think you are doing, acting like a bunch of hyenas? You are supposed to be demure young ladies. Act like it." He walked deliberately over to his seat and sat back down. The girls murmured amongst themselves for a moment, then went reluctantly back to their positions on the far wall. Antoine gave Seto a grateful look as he also sat back down.

"I do hope that the girls didn't give you any trouble," Madame Kazuki twittered as she flowed back into the room, followed demurely by Anzu.

"I must observe a complete lack of decorum amongst the girls," Kaiba said coldly, determined not to pull any punches. "No sooner did you leave the room than they were all over Antoine and later myself. I actually had to raise my voice to them, which is not very becoming at all."

"Oh, I'm sure that it was just the excitement of having two august gentlemen such as yourselves in attendance that caused the break in behaviour," Madame Kazuki twittered nervously. "I shall make sure to take them in hand once you have left."

"Good," Antoine said, fanning himself dramatically. "It really was most disconcerting and not something I expect in this kind of venue." He perked up as he took in that Anzu was in attendance. "Now, I take it that this is Miss Mazaki?"

"Yes," Madame Kazuki said, trying and failing to keep a bitter note out of her voice. "Antoine Pierre and Seto Kaiba, this is Anzu Mazaki, one of our... less fortunate students." She had a sneer in her voice that raised Seto's hackles. "Now my dear," Madame Kazuki said, "your performance as we discussed."

"Make sure that you perform to your best, Mazaki," Kaiba drawled, crossing his arms and sitting back in an assured way. "I'll know if you are holding out on us." He directed a look at Madame Kazuki as he finished, catching her eye with a glare that had humbled many a better man than she could ever hope to be. He was pleased to note that the woman paled sharply as she could not help but conclude that Kaiba, at least, knew exactly what was going on.

Anzu nodded and switched on the CD player for herself as no-one else would lower themselves to do such a thing for her, something else that made Kaiba scowl. Then she began to dance.

As Anzu gave her very best on the dance floor, Seto took a moment to look around at the rest of the girls, noting the sour expressions and the sullen looks that were being sent Anzu's way. This truly was a poisonous place, even worse than Anzu had made it sound when she had described how she was treated here the previous day and he was glad that they would be getting her out of such a place. She deserved so much better than this. Her talent deserved so much better than this.

Seto would like to think that he would have helped her out before they had become involved, but he knew deep down that it wasn't terribly likely. But still, he couldn't help but think that had he known, he would have done _something_ to help her out. But whether he would have done or not, at least he was able to do something in the here and now.

Soon the music stopped and Anzu finished dancing, then she stood there awkwardly, listening to the mumbles and grumbles from the rest of the girls as well as quailing under the glare she was receiving from Madame Kazuki. To counter this, Antoine stood and began clapping loudly.

"Bravo!" he exclaimed as he crossed the floor to the panting girl, taking a bottle of water to her as he noted that no-one else had. "I must say that you have the talent that I have been looking for. I am most impressed."

"What?" A shout came from a girl with bouncing blonde ringlets, "but how could you choose someone like her over me?" she flicked her hair, emphasising her good looks, never thinking that good looks alone would only carry her so far.

"It is quite simple, my dear," Antoine said airily, "young Anzu here has more talent in her little toe than you could ever have in the whole of your legs." Antoine turned away from the girl, making it quite clear that he had no more to say on the matter. She pouted and stamped her foot in frustration until Seto raised an eyebrow at her antics. It would seem that even she knew not to anger the most powerful man in Domino so she slunk back to where the other dissatisfied girls were standing, hoping to lose herself amongst the crowd.

However, Antoine was not done quite yet. "Madame Kazuki," he said coolly, "to be quite frank, I have no idea why you were trying to hide Miss Mazaki away. She is a credit to your school."

"She hardly pays enough to be worth my time," Madame Kazuki said dismissively.

"Really?" Kaiba drawled. "Any astute businesswoman would realise that a talent like Mazaki's could be made to work to make up any shortfall in... payment." He gave her an utterly contemptuous look. "Can you imagine what kind of advertisement someone with her talent could have been for you? How much business and plaudits could she have brought your way? How she could have enhanced your reputation? Yet you let petty jealous rich girls dictate what you should do and how you should run your business." Kaiba raked the assembled girls with a glare as he said that last.

"Hmm... I see what you mean," Madame Kazuki as she tried to appear thoughtful, hurriedly changing her tune as she sensed the way the wind was blowing. "I... was mistaken to treat Anzu like a second class pupil. I can see that now."

"You can't seriously be considering favouring her over me," the same girl as before put herself forwards again, obviously unable to stand that Anzu was the center of attention, scary Seto Kaiba or not. "My daddy will..."

"Your 'daddy' will do nothing," Kaiba said glaring down at her. "I know you and I know your father. He will not cross me if he values his lifestyle." He dismissed the girl with a wave, pointedly ignoring her as she stamped her foot in annoyance. He turned back to the dance instructor. Now was the appropriate moment to drop the next bombshell. "Madame Kazuki," he said, "you will have no reason to concern yourself with Mazaki any longer as I shall be removing her from your... care... and placing her in Antoine's."

"You can't do that!" Madame Kazuki protested. "I..."

"I can do that and I will," Kaiba glared at her then he smirked. "I am Seto Kaiba and I can do what I like. Not only that, but I will withdraw any funding that Kaiba Corporation provides, directly or indirectly, if I ever hear of anything like this happening in future."

"What did you do?" the blond haired girl shrieked at Anzu. "Did you sleep with him or something?" she pointed at Kaiba. "That has to be the only reason these people are concerning themselves with you."

Anzu looked stricken at the implication, especially as it was at least partially true. Seto looked murderous, but before he could speak up, Antoine clapped his hands, bringing attention back to him.

"That is quite enough," he said. "Madame Kazuki, how on Earth could you let such ill feeling fester in this studio? The atmosphere is utterly poisonous and I shall not be back until it improves."

Madame Kazuki paled. Having regular visits from Antoine Pierre was one of the selling points for her school and to lose that endorsement could very well ruin her, especially with the threat of the loss of Kaiba Corporation funding and the additional threat of word spreading amongst other eminent dancers. The murmurs from the girls upon hearing this pronouncement was not lost on her and she felt that she had to say something.

"Surely it doesn't have to come to that?" she asked, trying not to sound desperate, but really she knew that she had no-one to blame but herself. She had been weak, letting her spoilt little rich girl students dictate how she should treat the girl that should have been her star pupil and best advertisement. "I am sorry," she said as Antoine still didn't say a word, "I understand my mistakes and I will not let them happen again." She turned to Anzu, knowing that she needed to say something more, to hopefully prevent these two powerful men from destroying her anyway. "I am sorry for what I have done to you my dear," she said as genuinely as she could, trying to save at least a little face. "I wish you luck in your future with Mr. Pierre."

"Thank you Madame," Anzu said graciously, giving a small bow.

"Go and get your things together," Seto said brusquely. "We will be leaving as soon as you are ready." Anzu nodded and ran from the room, returning in record time along with her bags as she had not bothered to change and she also did not have a locker to empty. She did not keep one here since it had been broken into and all her clothes vandalised. She'd had a pretty good idea as to who had done it, but Madame Kazuki would not hear of her problems, leaving her to deal with it on her own. She could not help a small smile of satisfaction that they were all getting their just desserts today. They had tried to keep her down and they had failed, that was revenge enough for her.

"One last thing," Kaiba glared down at Madame Kazuki as Anzu returned, "I have recorded proceedings here tonight via various hidden cameras and microphones and if there is _any _kind of retribution attempted against Miss Mazaki, I shall expose tonight's events to the press," he smirked and raked a look along the line of sulking girls, "and I'm sure that none of us want that to happen."

The trio turned to leave then, Seto and Antoine flanking Anzu as they left the building. Madame Kazuki watched sadly as the rest of the girls gossiped amongst themselves.

Madame Kazuki clapped her hands to call attention once the trio had left the room. "Now then girls," she said wanly, "you may go home for the evening. I think we all need to re-evaluate our positions and I shall see you here on Wednesday to start anew."

"Yes Madame Kazuki," the girls chorused in unison, then they left the dance instructor alone in her studio.

Madame Kazuki hoped that none of these girls would be so stupid as to try anything against Anzu as she had no doubt that Seto Kaiba would follow through on his threat.

And she would be good to her word. Nothing like this would happen on her watch again.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Once again, thank you for your kind reviews. They always make my day.

Thank you for reading.


	12. Chapter 12

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu sighed with ill disguised relief as the limousine drew away from the dance studio, drawing attention from Seto who was sat opposite along with Antoine.

"Are you alright, Anzu?" he asked.

Anzu looked up and smiled. "I'm so much better now, thank you," she said. "My mother would never listen to me when I tried to tell her about the atmosphere at Madame Kazuki's and I couldn't really push it because she doesn't really approve of me dancing at all." She smiled. "I have to thank you two for listening to me... although I'm not sure exactly what I shall tell her now..." She looked troubled as she thought about it.

"Are your parents at home?" Antoine asked. "I would be more than happy to explain what a wonderful dancer you are and how they were treating you at Madame Kazuki's was nothing short of criminal."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Anzu shook her head. "My mother is away on business and she's not likely to be back any time soon."

"I see," Antoine said, a troubled expression on his face. "And what of your father?"

"He... is not around," Anzu said uncomfortably. Antoine looked at Seto, who shrugged, indicating that he did not know either.

Antoine decided not to prod at what was obviously a sore spot, at least for now. "Can you contact your mother?" he asked gently.

"Not very easily," Anzu shook her head. "I usually have to wait for her to call me then hope that I'm home to take the call and it doesn't end up as a message on the answering machine..."

"My dear," Antoine broke in, aghast, "you make it sound as though you have been all but abandoned!"

"I wouldn't go quite that far," Anzu said uncomfortably. "My mother just needs to work to support me."

"But that really will not do and you should not be on your own," Antoine said as he pulled a card from his pocket. He felt a strong need to protect this young woman, even though he had only just met her and he would not hesitate to act on that feeling. "I will give you my card with my personal contact details so that if you need anything, and I do mean anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Anzu said as she took the card and placed it into her purse.

"Are you implying that I am not capable of looking after her?" Seto said with some annoyance, feeling as though his toes were well and truly being stepped on.

"No, not at all," Antoine said in a placating tone. "I am simply volunteering to be a substitute parental figure for her should she need one and whilst I am certain that you can look after her quite well, a parental figure is quite different to a romantic interest."

Seto was about to retort when Anzu felt she had to speak up. "Please, don't argue over me," she said. "I am quite capable of looking after myself. After all, I have been doing so for quite some time. However," she looked at Antoine and smiled, "it is quite nice to have the option should I ever need it, so thank you."

Seto was partially mollified by that. Yes, he could have pointed out that she hadn't done so well with the situation at Madame Kazuki's, but he knew that it was not her fault that her parent had not listened to her, so he really had no choice but to let it go.

"Antoine," Seto called the dance instructor's attention, "now that Anzu is no longer a student under Madame Kazuki, when will you take her on?"

"That is a good question," Antoine said. He looked over to Anzu. "What was your schedule at Madame Kazuki's?" he asked courteously.

"Monday and Wednesday after school and on Saturday mornings," she supplied.

"Well, in that case I shall take you for the same times, at least to start with," he said with a smile. "You can come to my studio, can you not?"

"Yes, but it may take me a while to get there," Anzu said. "It is a lot further to travel than Madame Kazuki's."

"That will not be a problem," Seto interjected. "I will send a car to take you to your classes." He smiled. "It is the least I can do."

"Then it is all set," Antoine said, clapping his hands and smiling broadly. "I will see you at my studio after school on Wednesday."

"Thank you both," Anzu said shakily, things clearly catching up with her. She was now that much closer to her dream and after the previous events of the afternoon, it was proving to be quite an emotional moment.

Seto noticed that Anzu was on the verge so he slipped across the car and gathered her into his arms as they drew up outside Antoine's home. Antoine smiled as he took in the couple sitting opposite. They were good for each other and it was well past time that Seto finally let someone other than Mokuba and, to a small extent, himself into his life. He opened the door, got out then leaned back down.

"Good night you two," he said kindly. "And Seto, look after her. She's special"

"I know," Seto said as Anzu blushed. "Goodnight Antoine."

"Goodnight and thank you again," Anzu said, then the car door closed and they were on the move.

"Are you sure that you are alright," Seto asked with some concern as the car moved away, leaving Antoine behind.

"I am fine, really I am," she said, then she looked up at him, reached up with her hands to cup his cheeks and pulled him into a soft kiss, hoping that he wouldn't mind her being quite so forward.

Seto was surprised when she moved in to kiss him, but it had been far too long, in his opinion, since he had been able to take her into his arms so he deepened the embrace, winding his arms around Anzu and kissing her back soundly. His breath sharpened quickly as she worked her magic upon him.

Anzu let out a breathy moan as Seto deepened the embrace and she moved her hands from his face to wind around his neck and buried them into his hair. He moved against her and she let out a small gasp as she realised that he was already half hard. But then, truth be told she wasn't in a much better state herself. However, she knew that they would be pulling up outside her home in a matter of moments and they would be forced to stop, unless...

"Would... would you like to come in for a while?" she asked as they began to draw to a stop. "You know that my mother is not at home and... I think I'd like some company for a while." She blushed deeply as she said that, making it quite clear just what kind of 'company' she wanted.

"Hmm... I think I can manage that, at least for a while," he said, raking his eyes up and down her figure. "Just let me give the driver his instructions, then I'll be with you." Seto pressed the intercom. "Isono," he said seriously, "I will be staying here for now. Park up somewhere out of the way and I will call you when I need you."

"Very good, Sir," Isono intoned.

Seto and Anzu departed from the rear of the limousine and walked up the path towards her home, the car pulling away as they did so. Anzu opened the door and ushered Seto inside, but she hardly had time to close and lock the door before he was upon her, pinning her to the wooden door and kissing her senseless. She was slightly shocked by the intensity of the kiss, but then she considered that she had missed being able to touch him just as much as he had obviously missed her and responded with fervour.

After a few moments, Seto pulled away and looked deeply into her eyes. Anzu smiled as he moved off her, pleased that he had given her the chance to move. She slipped out from under him, but before he could protest, she had grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs to her room. She shut the door behind them then crossed to pull the curtains closed, not wanting to run the risk of giving the neighbours a free show. Once she was done with that, she turned back to Seto who crossed the room and gathered her back into his arms, wasting no time in claiming her lips with his own. They stood closely together, enjoying this simple yet intimate embrace for several long moments, then, to Seto's surprise, it was Anzu who took things to the next level as she reached between them to fiddle with Seto's belt buckle.

Seto restrained himself from commenting on that, as sorely tempted as he was to make a quip about Anzu being over-eager as he knew that such a comment delivered in the wrong way was fairly likely to ruin the mood and he was surprised again as he realised just how much he did want this. He wanted to make her feel good, to make her feel pleasure and he knew that it would ruin the experience for him if he failed to make that happen.

This connection they currently shared was something special, touching him deeply inside in places that hadn't known any affection for years and so it was with gentle reverence that he moved her to the bed and made love to her.

It was several minutes later that Seto propped himself up on one elbow and looked tenderly into the face of his lover. "You are amazing," he breathed, wonder on his features. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that he could find someone that was so... perfect for him and he couldn't help but wonder how he had not noticed her before. Why had it taken such subterfuge to bring her to his attention and into his life?

"You are a pretty amazing person yourself," Anzu said, tears of emotion pricking at the back of her eyes as she considered that he had practically confessed love to her – or at least as close as she thought he was ever likely to get.

He had done so much for her recently, more than her other friends could ever have hoped to have done for her and it dawned on her, with a rush of emotion, that she loved the normally icy CEO that was currently showing her his hidden tender side. She knew, however, that she could not tell him how she felt, at least not yet. Although Seto had been much more free in showing her his emotions, at least in private, she worried that telling him something so deeply personal and intimate so soon after they had got together may cause him to retreat back into his shell and she desperately did not want that to happen. There should be plenty of time to tell him, but this was definitely not the right time.

Not wanting to give in to her current emotional state – she was fairly certain that Seto would not appreciate a weepy woman – she closed her eyes and pulled him into a tender kiss, one that he reciprocated just as gently. That almost made her lose her composure all over again, but then they were interrupted by the ringing of Seto's cell phone.

"I'd better get that," he said softly as he pulled away from her. She nodded and he got up from her narrow bed, quickly locating the device in one of his coat pockets.

"Kaiba," he snapped as he answered without even looking at the number display. "Oh, Mokuba. Yes, I'm alright. Yes, I'll be home soon." He hung up and turned back to the girl on the bed. "I'm sorry..." he began.

"No don't apologise," She said, giving him her best smile. "Mokuba needs you more than I do and I already told you that I don't want to come between you guys, OK?"

Kaiba put his underpants back on, then crossed over to the bed. He bent down and kissed her soundly. "You are absolutely perfect, do you know that?" he said. Then he stood and gathered the rest of his clothes, dressing quickly but forgoing the belts and buckles, instead placing them into his pockets. "Thank you for being so understanding and I'll see you tomorrow." He walked from the room, letting himself out of the house a few moments later.

Anzu didn't really come back to herself until she heard the snick of the front door closing. She heard a car come up the road, a door slam and the vehicle pull away and she knew that Kaiba had gone.

She got up from the bed, first showering and putting on her nightclothes before turning to the task of changing the bed. Once she had stripped and changed it, then loaded the washer with the dirty bedding, there was a task that she had to perform, one that she knew she could not put off any longer, no matter how much of a waste of time she knew it would be.

She picked up the phone handset and dialled a number.

"Mazaki," the call was answered shortly.

"Mother," Anzu said coolly, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Oh, it's just you," the woman said dismissively, not disappointing Anzu's expectations at all. "I don't have time to deal with you right now as I have a meeting to attend, so you can tell Shana whatever it is you think I need to know and she can fill me in if she thinks it's worth me spending any time over."

"Mother! Anzu exclaimed, "I just want..."

"Hello Anzu," Shana's voice came on the phone. "You know that you shouldn't bother your mother like this. She is a busy woman."

"Well, I thought she might like to know that her daughter has secured a place to be tutored in dance by none other than Antoine Pierre himself," she said, plenty of bitterness seeping through into her tone.

"Really," Shana drawled sarcastically, putting Anzu's teeth on edge. "I really can't see how something like that could ever happen."

"Well, not that I suppose you care, but it would seem that he found out that Madame Kazuki wasn't being entirely honest with him and when he found out that she was hiding me away he demanded to see me dance and he was so impressed that he decided to take me under his wing and tutor me himself." She deliberately did not mention that Kaiba was involved in any way. She did not want to run the risk of her mother interfering in her life and potentially trying to make capital off the fact that her daughter was associated with Seto Kaiba. That would make it practically impossible to keep their relationship under wraps.

"I cannot believe that it was that simple," Shana said. "There must be something more to it." The contempt dripped from her voice as she, in effect, called Anzu a liar.

"I've told you what happened," Anzu stated simply, "and I am not lying so that is all I have to say except to remind you to pass the message on please." She hung up before Shana could accuse her of anything else and she glared at the phone as she did so.

For some reason, her mother had practically disowned her and she had never worked out exactly why. Shana certainly hadn't helped with that, as she seemed to undermine everything she tried to do to get her mother's approval. Well, no more of that. She would not tell that pair anything else.

And this was her guilty secret. She actually had not seen her mother for at least two years and the last time had only been a flying visit. Yes, the woman often made noises about having to come home and how inconvenient it would be for her to do so, but something would almost inevitably crop up, thus keeping her away. However, right now, this was something that Anzu was quite thankful for.

Still, as things were it wasn't so bad. The bills were paid and she had money to allow her to live reasonably, so it really could have been a lot worse. But she was under no illusion that as soon as she turned 18, her mother would cut her loose. She had a few more months to worry about that, but seeing as she was now under Antoine's wing, so to speak, hopefully her talent could carry her through. She was also fairly certain that Seto wouldn't let her fall, but she really wanted to do things for herself.

As for her father, the man had disappeared out of her life around the time that Shana became her mother's personal assistant. She had tried to trace him in recent months, but she didn't have either the resources or the connections to enable her to find him so she'd had to give it up. In a way that was a relief as she didn't think she would be able to take it if she actually found him only for him to reject her out of hand. She had wondered that he had never tried to contact her, but then it was only after her father had left that they had moved to Domino so he may not know where she was. It was shortly after that move that her mother had left 'on business' and had not come back.

But there wasn't much she could do about it now. She sighed again and made to get ready for bed. She had tomorrow to look forward to and she would be able to see Seto at school even if she would not be able to talk to him. But that did remind her of something – she still had to try and get Yugi alone so that she could break the news of her relationship to him herself and that certainly was not going to be anything like fun.

In fact, she was dreading it.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N**- Another shorter chapter that serves as a bridge between the previous part and the next. But the next chapters will be longer as we get to the next part of the story.

Once again, thank you for all your kind reviews and also thank you for reading. :)


	13. Chapter 13

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Thanks for your reviews, favourites and alerts. They always make me happy. :)

Also, as a reminder, I actually wrote the entire story for last year's NaNoWriMo so the first draft is entirely finished and what is actually taking the time is the editing, tidying up and convincing myself to post it. I really dislike unfinished WIPs so as a rule I don't start posting anything until I have the first draft finished anyway. :D

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu was quite correct about how hard it would be to tell Yugi as it actually proved to be more difficult than she had imagined to get to speak to him alone. For over a week she tried, but whenever she got anywhere close, either her own fears over how upset he would be would stop her in her tracks or Jonouchi would seem to pop up out of nowhere, making it impossible for her to say anything. It became quite frustrating.

In fact the stress began to take it's toll on her and the thought of trying again began to make her feel utterly nauseous. Seto noticed her distress and decided to try and take a different tack that may make things a little easier on her, that being to try to integrate himself with their group, the very thing that Anzu had thought she was helping him to do in the first place.

To this end he approached Yugi, Jonouchi and Anzu as they sat together eating lunch one Wednesday dinner time. He actually had an excuse to talk to her as well as making it clear to her companions that he was helping her.

"Anzu," he began, "I need to..."

"Hey hey, hang on there a minute," Jonouchi said, standing threateningly. "Who gave you the right to call Anzu by her first name?"

"Before you make yourself look like an even bigger cretin than you already are," Seto sneered, giving Jonouchi a look that clearly communicated exactly what he thought of him, "maybe you should ask the lady in question whether or not she objects?"

"No way," Jonouchi spat. "She would never give you permission. You are up to something and I don't like it."

"I assure you that I am not up to anything," Seto said, crossing his arms with annoyance. "I simply came here to inform Anzu that she shall have to ride with me to her dance class after school because the car that would normally transport her there is in the shop for repairs."

"You give Anzu a lift to the dance studio?" Yugi asked. "But why? It isn't that far for her to walk, is it?"

"I was discovered by Antoine Pierre thanks to Seto," Anzu said quietly. "It's a fair bit further to go to his studio so Seto offered to have a car take me."

"That's very nice of you, Kaiba," Yugi said, eyes shining with gratitude. This was something that was guaranteed to put Kaiba's teeth on edge whether Yugi intended it or not.

"Stop right there," Jonouchi spat, cutting through the rapidly cloying atmosphere. "Why would you do something like that?" he demanded. "What's in it for you?"

"Maybe I just don't like seeing talent go to waste," Seto said, looking down his nose at Jonouchi. "Not that you would have any idea about anything like talent."

Jonouchi was about ready to launch himself at Kaiba, but Yugi put his hand on Jonouchi's arm, staying his intended course of action. "Wait a moment, Jonouchi," he said reasonably. "Maybe this means that Kaiba is finally ready to be our friend."

Jonouchi snorted, "It will be a cold day in hell before something like that could ever happen," he said belligerently. "I'll never accept it."

"That's about what I thought," Kaiba said, shaking his head almost ruefully. He knew that Jonouchi and Yugi would likely misinterpret those words to take it that he was agreeing with Jonouchi when what he really meant was that he knew Jonouchi would never accept him as part of the group. From Anzu's reaction, however, he could tell that she had realised his true meaning. Still, he had made the effort to try and he knew that Anzu would appreciate that much at least, He looked over at the sad looking girl. "I'll see you after school, Anzu," he said gently.

"Thank you for letting me know, Seto," she said. She watched as Seto walked away, then braced herself for the inevitable onslaught of questions.

"What the hell, Anzu," Jonouchi was heard to say. "Why are you calling that prick by his first name? Can't you see that he is up to something?"

"You are wrong Jonouchi," Anzu said sternly. "I didn't say anything about it before because I knew you would react like this, but Seto has done a lot for me over the last few weeks. I owe him a lot, but so far he hasn't asked for a single thing in return and I honestly don't think that he will."

"I can't believe that," Jonouchi said, but then Yugi once again placed his hand on Jonouchi's arm, instantly calming his agitated friend.

"Jonouchi," Yugi said, "If Kaiba is connecting with someone other than Mokuba then I can only take that as a good thing and I really don't get the sense that he has an agenda." He shook his head. "I honestly think that you should give him a chance."

Jou sighed and subsided reluctantly. "Fine, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now anyway."

"Thank you Jonouchi," Anzu said. "Now if you'll excuse me?" she got up.

"Where you goin'?" Jonouchi asked suspiciously.

"Just to the little girl's room before I have to go to class," Anzu said, giving him a strange look. "Why? Do you think I'm going to run after Seto like a lovesick fangirl? Give me some credit!" With that, she turned and walked away, shaking her head at her hard headed friend as she went.

Jonouchi and Yugi watched her go, the former with a grim expression on his face. He was still certain that something odd was going on and that Anzu was in it up to her neck.

He resolved that he would find out about whatever it was and make sure that he could protect Yugi from it. His friend had been through more than enough already and he would do his best to make sure that Yugi wasn't hurt or his name wasn't Katsuya Jonouchi!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu didn't catch up with Kaiba until he was to take her to the dance studio after school. As Anzu climbed into the waiting car, she noted that Kaiba was there already with a pensive look upon his face.

"Are you alright, Seto?" she asked once the vehicle was on the move and she could not stand the silence any more. If there was one thing, other than business, that Seto truly excelled at it was prolonged silences and she knew that the only way to break them was to speak herself. That was something not many people would even think of doing with someone like Seto Kaiba.

"I'm fine," he said, dismissing her concerns. "I was just trying to gauge how upset you are with me for interrupting your lunch with Yugi and his dog."

"I'm not upset," Anzu said, shaking her head. "You decided to see if you could be accepted into the group, didn't you?" When he did not answer, she continued. "You know, that is more that I could ever have hoped for. I'm just sorry that it didn't work out."

"Hn... well, the ball is in their court now," Seto said resolutely. "I made my advance and I can't help it if someone like the mutt can't let the past go."

Anzu sighed. Seto and Jonouchi would never be good friends, she knew that much. Too much bad blood had passed between them, but she was determined that she would get them to at least tolerate each other. To do that she had to try and get them to understand each other and now was a good a time as any to begin that process.

"I must dispute one thing though," she said.

"Oh?" Kaiba was surprised. "What's that?"

"You said that Jonouchi has no talent..." she began, only for Seto to cut her off.

"He doesn't" he said coolly. "I will never acknowledge him as anything other than a third rate duelist."

Anzu sighed again and shook her head. "Believe it or not, the whole world does not revolve around duel monsters," she said, fixing him with a look that told him she was not joking. "Jonouchi is actually a rather talented artist and he has drawn some amazing stuff."

"Really?" Kaiba was openly sceptical. "I'll believe that when I see it."

"I can show you," Anzu insisted. "I have some of his work at my home. He asked me to look after some of his folders because..." She stopped herself there before she could give away something that Jonouchi had asked her not to.

"Because?" Seto prompted.

"I'm sorry, I can't say," Anzu said. "Jonouchi doesn't want anyone to know and I can't betray his confidence." She gave Seto an almost pleading look. "Surely you can understand that?"

"I can," Seto said with a nod, "and that determination not to betray anything that could cause your friends harm is one of the many things that I like about you." He considered for a moment. "I will take you up on your offer to show me his drawings. You have me intrigued and I'm curious to see if the mutt could actually be good for something after all." Seto's tone made it clear that he was not expecting to be impressed.

"Good," Anzu replied with satisfaction, "and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed."

"In that case I shall come over when your dance class is finished," he paused as he considered something. "that is, if it's OK with you?"

"That sounds good to me," Anzu said. "But it won't give you much time at Kaiba Corporation."

"I'm not going in today," Seto said, then he gave a wry grin, "I thought that I would visit my old dance instructor and see just how well his new student is doing." He patted the seat next to him. "Now would you come over here?" His expression turned somewhat wistful. "I haven't been able to hold you all day..."

Anzu laughed at his pathetic attempt to look pathetic, but duly moved over to sit next to him all the same. She let out a happy sigh as he enveloped her in a tender hug, content to just sit there closely with him. She was pleased that he did not push for something more right now. Not everything had to be about physical intimacy, after all.

And as awkward as things were between her and her friends, she couldn't help but hope that in the end, things would work out for the best.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

A few hours and one exhaustive dance class later found Kaiba's limousine moving up the road towards Anzu's home. Unknown to the couple in the car, there was a shadowy figure waiting around a corner, just out of sight.

Jonouchi's plan was that once Anzu had been dropped off and the limousine had left, he would take his chance to confront her whilst she was on her own and demand to know what the hell was going on and, most importantly, how it would affect Yugi.

However, his eyes widened as Kaiba didn't stay in the limousine and leave once he had dropped Anzu off. Instead he got out of the car and walked with Anzu into the house as the car drove away, making it clear that he would be staying with her for a while. That was something he had not expected and it made it clear that there was something more going on than had been made readily apparent.

He waited for several long moments to let them get settled and to make one hundred percent sure that Kaiba wasn't going to come straight back out again despite the car having left, then he stealthily made his way towards the house. He took careful stock of the terrain and everything that was going on around him just in case he ended up having to leave in hurry. He was also careful to make sure that Kaiba hadn't got any of his security around to keep watch over the place, but it would seem that he felt comfortable enough to be here without his seemingly ever present security to cover his ass. Jonouchi considered that it was just as well as there would have been no way to do what he was about to if Kaiba's security had been anywhere near the place.

Finally, he reached the front windows and looked inside. OK, there was nothing there, but he thought that he could see shadows moving in an adjacent room so he moved around towards the rear of the house, being careful not to make a sound and potentially draw attention to himself. A few moments and one slightly squeaky gate later, he reached the window to the room that he thought that had seen the movement in – the kitchen. He carefully peered around the edge of the window, not wanting those potentially inside to see him, but he almost gave himself away as he took in the scene inside in utter shock. He threw himself back and covered his mouth as he flattened his back against the wall. Had he really seen what he thought he had just seen?

He carefully, very carefully looked around the edge of the window once again, confirming that he had indeed not been seeing things.

The sight he saw that had so affected him was that of Seto Kaiba, leaning back against the kitchen counter, head thrown back in ecstasy as Anzu crouched in front of him, sucking him off. Jonouchi was instantly angry on Anzu's behalf. Kaiba was obviously taking advantage of her and she must be paying for her new dance classes and her rides to and from with sexual favours. How utterly despicable was that?

He moved back away from the window for a moment, thinking that he should bang on it to disturb them and rescue Anzu from her fate. But... what if he was wrong? What if there was more going on here than was immediately apparent? Anzu had been quite defensive of Kaiba earlier on after all and he knew that was not something she would do if he was taking advantage of her. He thought about it for several long moments, then he decided to take one more look, just to make sure that what he was seeing was correct before he took action. He wasn't perving, no way. At least that's what he told himself.

However, what he saw when he looked through the window a third time shocked him to his very core. They were standing together, Kaiba obviously having finished and he was giving Anzu the tenderest look that he had ever seen the icy CEO give anyone outside of his own brother. They kissed and it was obviously a kiss that was full of feeling. Then Kaiba picked up Anzu, who was blushing and patently still very aroused and sat her on the kitchen counter that he had just been leaning against. He raised her skirt and removed her panties, smirking at how damp they were before he tossed them to one side.

Jonouchi was stunned. He wasn't going to, was he? He dropped to the floor as Kaiba was very clearly about to go down on Anzu. He honestly hadn't thought that Kaiba would 'lower' himself to do such a thing. He'd thought that Kaiba would be all about his own pleasure and sod everything else, but that he would care about Anzu's needs? That was actually scary.

He took one more peek, noting that Anzu was very clearly into it, something that he knew she would not be if Kaiba were forcing or coercing her in any way, then he slunk away, leaving them to it. He was ashamed to note that he was actually semi-hard himself, making him feel like he was a dirty voyeur. But he shook himself and forced those feelings to one side. In his mind, Anzu was now with the enemy and this was something that Jonouchi knew would utterly destroy Yugi.

He would just have to make sure that Yugi did not find out and to that end he would have to keep Anzu away from him. It had not escaped his notice that Anzu had been trying to talk to Yugi alone, even if Yugi remained pretty much oblivious - and now he knew why. However, given the inevitable aftermath - that he would have to deal with - he could not let it happen. Yugi had been through more than enough lately. He did not need this betrayal on top of all that!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu sighed as Kaiba pulled away from her and wiped at his mouth with his hand. He gave her a smug look before leaning in and kissing her deeply, letting her taste herself on his tongue. She wasn't sure she particularly liked that, but she couldn't object as she had done the exact same thing to him after he had reached his own release and, after all, turnabout was fair play.

"I told you that you would enjoy it," Seto said smugly as he broke the kiss, "or have I read you completely wrongly?"

"You're not wrong and you know it," she said, giving him a sated yet half irritated grin. Then her expression turned slightly troubled. "Did I do OK?" she asked worriedly. "It's not something I've ever done before..."

Seto leaned in and kissed her softly again. "You did great," he said softly. "Better than great and I really enjoyed it." He pulled her from the counter top and set her on the floor on wobbly legs. "Don't doubt yourself so much."

"I'll try," she said with a small smile. She pulled away from him then and moved to retrieve the panties that Seto had thrown on the floor several minutes beforehand. "Just hold on a moment," she said.

"I'm not going anywhere," he replied. Anzu nodded and left the room. He sat at the kitchen table and placed his chin on his hand as he began to think. This... thing he had going on with Anzu was very intense and he still wondered at times if he were doing the right thing. He was juggling a lot to make sure that he was keeping on top of things at Kaiba Corporation and to make sure that he could spend time with his brother as well as being with Anzu. Fortunately, things were fairly quiet at Kaiba Corporation at the moment, so it wasn't as difficult as it might otherwise have been. He supposed that if things got _too _difficult to manage then he could end it, but... didn't he deserve some happiness for himself? He did not want this to end, not at all, but he knew that they would have to calm things down a bit when his workload began to increase. At least he was fairly sure that Anzu would understand. She was a very understanding person after all.

He was brought out of his introspection by Anzu's return and he was surprised to see that she was carrying several large folders. "What are those?" he asked.

"Have you forgotten already?" Anzu said, surprised. "You said that you would come over here tonight to see these. They are the pictures I promised to show you."

"Oh, of course," Seto drawled sarcastically. The mutt's scrawls." His tone gave away his utter scepticism. "It isn't my fault that I was distracted from that by much more... pleasurable things." He gave a smirk at that last.

"Be nice, Seto," Anzu admonished him. "I think you will be surprised." She placed the folders on the table and pushed them towards him. "Go on," she urged as he gave her an openly sceptical look.

Seto sighed and opened the cover, knowing that he would not be able to get out of this unless he wanted an argument and right then he didn't feel like it. Then he involuntarily gave a gasp. The very first picture he came to was of a castle in a fantasy setting. Every line was crisp and perfect and despite it being all in pencil, it practically sparkled on the page.

"The mutt drew this?" he asked with utter surprise. "I can't believe that!"

"Don't be so quick to dismiss him," Anzu said as she reached over and flipped a few pages. "There. I watched him draw this one with my own eyes. It really was amazing to watch."

Seto looked at the picture in the folder with a critical eye. The subject was of Seto himself, duel disk on his arm and flourishing his cards, the background of his beloved blue eyes white dragon roaring over his shoulder. This one was actually coloured slightly, just enough to make the image pop from the page. All in all this was something that he would never have expected the mutt to produce and he couldn't help but wonder if he were some kind of savant, but he wisely kept that particular thought to himself as he didn't want to upset Anzu. "Why would he draw something like this?" he wondered aloud.

"He says that he draws what comes to mind for the most part," she said with a shrug. She turned to another page for Seto's benefit, settling on an image of herself dancing. Seto eyed the picture with something akin to wonder. The picture presented was absolutely exquisite with its clean lines and subtle shading. He had even managed to capture Anzu's joy of dance, something that shone through whenever the girl performed.

"Don't get me wrong," Seto said, "I am truly impressed, but why is it that he has not been discovered yet?"

Anzu shrugged. "I suppose it's because so many people have written him off," she said. "No one cares to look past his circumstances or the brash exterior to see that he has this kind of talent hiding beneath." She shook her head and sighed. "It's a real shame."

Kaiba remained silent as he looked through page after page of exquisitely executed drawings, both of duel monsters and of other subjects. Jonouchi had even drawn Priest Seth from what he had witnessed in the memory world, something that could not help but give him the shivers even as he could appreciate the beautiful drawing.

He gave a mental grimace. There was no way around it. "I suppose that I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to judging the mu.. Jonouchi," he admitted. "It would seem that he does have some talent after all and it would be hypocritical of me to pass him by when I clearly stated in front of him that I could not let talent to go waste. Not that I would want to either. To waste this kind of talent would be completely and utterly criminal, no matter what I think of him as a person."

"What do you have in mind?" Anzu asked.

"Actually, I'm still thinking about it," Kaiba admitted. "I know that he would not accept anything if it were to come directly from me so I shall have to set something up." He looked up at Anzu, "Would you mind if I took these with me?" he asked. "I think I know just the person to show them to."

"I guess it would be OK..." Anzu hedged with uncertainty.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to them," Seto promised. Well, apart from copying that one drawing of Anzu and having it framed to hang on his wall, he added silently.

"I know," Anzu said. "I know you are responsible, but I just feel like I'm somehow betraying Jonouchi's trust."

"You really will be doing him a favour," Seto reassured her. "With a talent like his, he could be set up for life."

"Alright," Anzu conceded. "I'll leave it to you to sort things out. Heaven knows that Jonouchi could do with a break."

"And I shall do my best to see to it that he gets one," Kaiba said. "I may not get on with him, but even I cannot ignore a talent like this." He then stood, looking at his watch. "I had better get going," he said with some regret in his tone. "Mokuba should be in bed by now but I'll just bet that he's still up playing video games."

Anzu laughed. "Yeah, typical kid. Gotta push his luck, eh?" She crossed over to Seto and gave him a heartfelt kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow," Kaiba said, picking up the folders and heading out to the now waiting limousine. Anzu watched him go then she let out a yawn. She had been feeling rather tired over the last few days. All this worry over what and how to tell Yugi must really be taking its toll on her.

She locked up and went to get ready for bed and she was asleep practically as soon as her head hit the pillow.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N**- I'm sure you can see which way the wind is blowing here and it's one of the reasons I don't tend to write much in the way of het. ^_^'

As for the how? That will be explained in the next chapter. To be honest, I'm feeling a bit nervous about where the story goes from here... But it's what I wrote, so I_ will_ post it.

Thank you for reading. :)


	14. Chapter 14

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - It feels like the story took a bit of a left turn here, but when the plot originally came to me, this was one of the original points, along with Kaiba's plan, the sleepover and a couple of other things yet to come. The rest of the story grew from these points.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next several days seemed to be an exercise in frustration for Anzu. She had redoubled her efforts to get to talk to Yugi on his own only to be thwarted at practically every turn – mostly by Jonouchi. She had noticed that Jonouchi had been glaring at her quite often for some reason, especially when she tried to approach Yugi in his presence. This was a new development, or at least something that she hadn't noticed before and this only added to her worries over the situation. Obviously Jonouchi thought that she had done something wrong and it could only be related to her defence of Kaiba's motives on the previous Wednesday lunchtime.

That week's 'movie night' had been strained and awkward to say the very least. Jonouchi had glared at her pretty much for the entirety of the evening and on the one occasion that Jonouchi had ducked out to go to the bathroom, he had ensured that she would not be able to get close to Yugi - not that she would be able to say anything to him in company like they were. Even Honda, who was usually pretty much immune to these things, noticed the oppressive atmosphere, which only made things all the more tense.

Eventually she had felt that she'd had to leave, at least partially because she could tell that the strained atmosphere was making Yugi quite uncomfortable so she had pleaded a headache and had headed to go home. Yugi, of course, had expressed concern over her state of health, but she had reassured him that everything was fine. Yugi had watched with concern as she left, at least until Jonouchi had come up behind him, glared at her hotly as she glanced back, then escorted Yugi back inside.

This was obviously going to be a hell of a lot harder than she had originally thought, especially as she had not even been able to call Yugi on the phone to arrange a time to meet in private as Jonouchi was practically living at the game shop at the moment. Not that she could blame Jonouchi for that, not with knowing what she did about his home situation.

Over the next week, the stress began to take more of a toll on her, not only making it hard for her to sleep at night which made her feel even more tired, but it wasn't helped by the fact that she was feeling nauseous much of the day, something else that she put down to stress.

Then she found a note in her locker, obviously from Jonouchi, telling her that movie night for this week had been cancelled. Although she felt guilty over it, as if it were her fault, she was also relieved that she would not have to sit and squirm under Jonouchi's glare again.

Seto had been quite busy with Kaiba Corporation over the previous week as well, but she didn't want to burden him with her worries. However, Mokuba did notice and he became concerned for her.

But then everything came to a head the next Saturday afternoon. Yugi and Jonouchi were out at the arcade where they had met up with Mokuba. Anzu noticed them as she was passing by on her way back from dance class, on foot because it was a nice day, so she popped in to greet them.

"Good afternoon Yugi, Mokuba... Jonouchi" she greeted them cheerily.

"Hey there, Anzu," Yugi said with a smile. "We missed you at movie night last night." He looked at her with some concern as she paled slightly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she brushed off his concern. "But I thought that Movie Night had been cancelled." She looked at Yugi with evident confusion, trying to ignore how Jonouchi was glaring at her.

"Um, no... it wasn't cancelled," Yugi said carefully. "What made you think that it was?"

Jonouchi did manage to catch Anzu's eye then and she quailed inside as he looked absolutely murderous. For all that she counted Jonouchi as a friend, the sentiment was clearly no longer returned, but even though she'd had enough of it, she decided not to call him out. Not whilst they were all in public anyway. "Oh, I must have been mistaken," she said, although she wasn't able to stop herself from paling even further. "I'm sorry, I suddenly don't feel so good," she said shakily - and it was the truth as she suddenly felt quite sick. "I'll head on home and see you guys later."

"Do you need someone to come with you?" Yugi asked.

"No, it's OK," she shook her head. "You stay here and have fun." She made her retreat then, leaving the trio of boys standing there, two watching with concern and one with some satisfaction.

Mokuba who had been silent until then, decided to speak up. He had watched the byplay with alarm and he was finally able to understand just what it was that Anzu had been going through.

"She wasn't mistaken, was she?" he observed pointedly, looking hard at Jonouchi with a glare that would have given his brother a run for his money.

"What are you saying, Mokuba?" Yugi asked, confusion evident upon his face.

"I think that Jonouchi is trying to keep Anzu away from you," Mokuba accused.

"But... why?" Yugi wondered aloud, then he turned to face Jonouchi. "Is that true?"

"I... err..." Jonouchi hedged, not wanting to admit that he had been caught out, but also not wanting to lie to his friend's face.

"Jonouchi," Yugi said, turning the big eyed look on to full effect, "why have you been keeping Anzu away from me?"

Both Jonouchi and Mokuba froze at that question. Mokuba, because he knew that Anzu had desperately wanted to tell Yugi for herself, feeling that it was her sole duty to do so whilst Jonouchi didn't want Yugi to find out at all as he was worried that it would upset him far too much.

"Come on," Yugi said as he couldn't help but notice their reticence, "it can't be that bad, can it? Anzu is my friend and she wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

"Want to bet?" Jonouchi muttered under his breath, but not quite quietly enough as Yugi heard him.

"Jonouchi, you are worrying me now. What is Anzu supposed to have done that's so awful that you won't even let her speak to me?" There was an undertone to his voice that let Jonouchi know that Yugi was expecting the truth and the next words out of Jonouchi's mouth had better not be a lie.

"She's a traitor," Jonouchi said defiantly. "She's in bed with the enemy. Literally."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, still all wide eyed innocence. Mokuba glared at Jonouchi, hoping to at least make him soften the blow a touch, but he had no such luck as Jonouchi was determined to blunder on regardless.

"She's fuckin' Kaiba," he said bluntly.

"What?" Yugi was shocked. "You're joking!"

"Nope, I'm not," Jonouchi continued belligerently. "I saw them with my own eyes and she is definitely fuckin' moneybags." Then he began to mutter, "With an ice prick like him she probably gets off on having her vag frozen solid."

"Jonouchi!" Mokuba exclaimed in outrage. "That's my brother you are talking about!"

"So," Jonouchi glared down at the smaller boy. "Just sayin' it how I see it."

"Did you know about this, Mokuba?" Yugi asked, still clearly shocked by the news.

"Yes, I did," he admitted, "and I can tell you that Anzu has been trying to speak to you about it for quite a while," he glared at Jonouchi, "but now it's obvious that someone hasn't even let her get close." Mokuba and Jonouchi continued to glare at each other hotly, neither of them anywhere near ready to back down over this.

"Hold it right there," Yugi shook off the shock, taking control of both himself and the situation as it seemed that Mokuba and Jonouchi were about to come to blows. "I think that this is a bit too much of a public place to be discussing something like this." he placed a hand on both of his friend's arms. "Let's go back to the game shop and then you can both tell me what you know." Yugi's face held a grim expression and his voice had a note of steel that Jonouchi and Mokuba both knew they would not be able to argue with.

"You are right, Yugi," Mokuba said, subsiding. "I'll be happy to tell you what I know." He sighed. "It really was Anzu's place to tell you, but..." he shrugged, "I guess there's no help for it now."

"Jonouchi?" Yugi prompted as the taller boy stood there, still glaring causing him to finally subside.

"Yeah, I'll come," Jonouchi said morosely. "I guess I need to explain myself, eh?"

"Good," Yugi said, "Let's go." He was determined to get to the bottom of this mess before making any snap judgements, but he already knew deep down that Anzu was not in the wrong.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Meanwhile, Anzu had arrived home and was making herself a cup of green tea with mint to help calm her stomach. The stress of the situation was playing havoc with her nerves and nausea had become an almost constant friend recently.

She turned on the TV for something to listen to, then she stopped dead and paled as the newscaster read some breaking news.

_And the breaking news is that a fault with the manufacturing process at Povirex Pharmaceuticals has left millions of women at risk of unwanted pregnancy._

_According to a leaked memo, there has been a breakdown in the process that adds the active ingredient to the widely used Omnia brand of birth control pills and it is not yet known how long the problem has remained undetected. It is also not known at this time whether the issue is down to negligence or sabotage. No one at the company was available for comment._

_Women are advised to stay calm and to continue taking their pills, but to use an additional method of contraception until they have seen their GP. A helpline has been made available on..._

Anzu switched off the TV and sat down heavily. Omnia was the birth control pill she was currently prescribed. Could she be amongst the women affected? She tried to think this through rationally, but as soon as she remembered that she had gone straight from one packet of pills to the next without a break she began to panic. She had not started her period despite the pills potentially being little more than placebos and she had been quite tired and nauseous these past few days. She hadn't actually been physically sick, but she knew that these things varied from woman to woman and actually throwing up wasn't a guaranteed thing in early pregnancy...

She stopped dead as that word crossed her mind. Pregnant... could she be... and what would that mean for her? She gave a start as she realised that it would mean the end of her dancing career before it had even begun and... what would Seto think? Would he disown her? Would he hate her?

She stopped herself there, as difficult as it was with visions of the ruination of her entire life spreading out before her minds eye. But she forced herself to sit and breathe deeply, to calm herself down whilst she forced herself to drink the now cooling tea. She knew that she would have to go to Seto and tell what was happening, but she could not go with maybes. No, she knew how Seto operated and she would have to go to him with cold hard facts.

She then calmly decided on the course of action she would have to take. She would go to the Kaiba mansion, picking up a pregnancy test on the way, then she would have to find time to actually use it, but she could cross that bridge when she came to it. She would have gone out to obtain a test, then come back home to do it in privacy, but she knew that it would have taken too much time. It was already becoming fairly late in the day and besides, she didn't think she would be able to make the trip across town if she turned out to be... well... not without blubbering and making an utter spectacle of herself. She was sure that Seto would not appreciate that either.

She moved over to the phone, picking up the handset and dialling the number that she had now committed to memory. For all that she needed to see Seto, she was not about to head over to the Kaiba mansion without knowing if he was actually at home or if it was OK to do so.

"Kaiba," he answered the phone in his usual brusque businesslike way.

"Hey Seto," Anzu said uncertainly, worried that she may be disturbing something important.

"Anzu?" Seto was clearly surprised to hear from her and she hoped that he didn't notice any stress in her voice. "Is everything OK?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you," she said suddenly. "Is it OK if I come over?"

"Sounds serious," Seto said. "I'll send a car."

"No, no," Anzu said quickly. "That's OK, I'll walk over. I could do with the fresh air."

"Whatever you think is best," Seto said. "It might take me a while for me to get this finished, but I'll see you later and whatever is up, try not to worry too much, OK? I'm sure whatever it is can't be that bad."

"OK, see you soon," Anzu said, then she hung up, struggling to hold back an almost hysterical laugh. Oh, if only he knew. It could very easily be the end of the world for her! She only hoped that Seto would be supportive if the results didn't come out as she wanted them to.

She washed her cup and made ready to go out. Soon, one way or another, she would know.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Over at the game shop, the three boys were sat together in Yugi's small kitchen, Yugi's grandfather having provided drinks and snacks that were currently sitting untouched.

Yugi decided that if he didn't break the silence they weren't going to get anywhere. "Now, before we go any further," he said, taking complete control of the situation, "Anzu is seeing Kaiba. Is that much correct?" Both Jonouchi and Mokuba nodded. "I can understand why Mokuba wouldn't say anything, but you, Jonouchi," he said accusingly, "decided that this should be kept from me, even going so far as to lie to keep Anzu away from me. Why?

"Because," Jou hung his head, "I didn't want you to be hurt by it."

"But I'm hurt now," Yugi pointed out, "and it was made even worse by the fact that my best friend saw fit to deceive me. You had to know that I would find out sooner or later, right?" Jou didn't answer, but Yugi saw his stricken expression and knew that Jonouchi was beginning to get it. His features softened somewhat. "I do understand why you did what you did, but you have to understand that it was the wrong thing to do, that it only made matters worse and at the end of the day, Anzu is perfectly entitled to see whoever she pleases."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Yugi," Mokuba said with some relief in his tone. "Aznu has been really good for Seto. He's been a lot less uptight recently and he even smiles a bit more now."

"Well, that's something, I guess," Yugi said. "How long have they been seeing each other?"

"You know, I'm not completely sure on that one myself," the boy said, musing over it. "I actually caught them in bed together, but Seto insisted that they were discussing telling me about it before I came in and made the question moot." He looked frankly at Yugi who had winced when Mokuba had mentioned Anzu and Seto being in bed together, but Mokuba knew that there was no sense in pulling his punches now. "I'm pretty sure that's when Anzu decided that she needed to tell you about their relationship herself. She thought it was her duty to do so and it has been really stressing her out that she couldn't do it." He sighed, "That was about three weeks ago."

"Jonouchi!" Yugi exclaimed in shock, "You've been stopping Anzu from telling me for THAT long?" He was plainly upset that his friend would go to such lengths. "Why? What made you think that you needed to stop her from talking to me?"

Jonouchi shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know, man," he said. "It was just a feeling I had – and if there is one thing I have learned over the years then it's that I should trust my instincts." He looked at Mokuba, "And if you repeat that to Kaiba..." he sighed, "then he'll just call me a dog all the more."

"I won't tell him that if you don't tell him that I'm discussing this with you," Mokuba said. "You know my brother is a very private person, but it's no good trying to hide this any more. At least between us."

"Well, your brother needs to learn how to be more careful," Jonouchi said, both grimacing and blushing at the memory. "After what I saw a week last Wednesday at Anzu's house..." he shook his head wryly, "He's lucky that I wasn't one of them paparazzi or something."

"Why?" Yugi asked.

Jou blushed again. "Let's put it this way," he said. "both his ass and Anzu's would have been on show to the entire world!" He shook his head. "I gotta admit, to start with I was really upset for her, thinking that he was just demanding that she do... that for him in payment for getting her them dancing lessons but..."

"But?" Yugi prompted.

"Then he looked at her... all tender like," Jonouchi continued. "I really didn't know he had it in him to care about someone other than Mokuba."

"So why were you so determined to keep Anzu away from Yugi?" Mokuba demanded.

"I dunno really," Jou shrugged. "I guess old habits die hard and it's kinda difficult to think about trusting Kaiba, you know." he looked at Yugi. "I'm sorry, man."

"That's OK, Jonouchi," Yugi said with a small smile. "I understand."

"So how long do you think this has been going on?" Mokuba asked. "I couldn't get a straight answer out of Seto and I'd like to know for myself how long they've been hiding it for.

"I think that something changed between them on the trip back from Egypt," Yugi said thoughtfully.

"What? You mean she went from pining after Atem to shagging Kaiba overnight?" Jou was outraged all over again.

"No, not at all," Yugi said, shaking his head. "Something changed between them, yes, but I don't think that there was anything like 'shagging' going on." He gave Jou a frank look. "Didn't you notice that Kaiba wasn't as cold to Anzu after he dueled me on the deck?"

"Yeah, I did notice that," Jonouchi said. "I think that's what first set the alarm bells ringing, you know?" He paused and a confused expression crossed his face. "But... if he was seeing Anzu, then what about that girl he took out the other week. You know, the one that had her face plastered all over the papers for the next week or so because no one could find out anything about her. What was her name now..."

"Kisa, wasn't it?" Yugi ventured.

"Yeah, that's her," Mokuba put in, looking almost insufferably smug.

"So what about her?" Jou asked, a belligerent jut to his jaw. "It's not nice to two time someone."

"That's not an issue," Mokuba smirked, shaking his head with amusement. "That was actually Anzu."

"You're kidding!" Jonouchi exclaimed, whilst Yugi just sat there stunned. "No way! It looked nothing like her!"

"Well, she was wearing glasses and what I assume was a wig?" Yugi looked over at Mokuba who gave a nod of confirmation. "It's not like we would have been expecting to see her out with Kaiba like that." He sighed. "Are they really happy together?" he asked.

"I think so," Mokuba said. "I already told you that Seto has been a lot more pleasant to be around since they got together and I'm sure that once the stress of this situation is done with, Anzu will be happier too."

Yugi sighed again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today, but having to re-evaluate this kind of relationship would do that to anyone. "I think I can be happy for her then," he said. "As much as I liked her, I think I always knew that she wasn't for me."

"Are you going to be alright, Yugi?" Mokuba asked, full of concern for his friend.

"Yeah, I'll be good," Yugi replied, "but right now I'm more concerned about Anzu. She needs to be told that everything is OK."

"Ah, Yug', you really do have a big heart," Jonouchi said, standing as Yugi did and pulling his best friend into a hug. "You know that I'll be here for you, no matter what, right?"

"Yes I do and I really appreciate that Jou," Yugi replied, "but please, don't try to hide something like this from me in the future, OK?"

"OK," Jou said, sitting down again.

"So I'm just going to call Anzu and make sure that she's OK. I'll be back in a minute." Yugi left the room then, leaving Jonouchi and Mokuba eyeing each other up warily.

"Are you really alright with this, Jonouchi?" Mokuba asked.

"Not really," Jou admitted, "but if Yugi is OK with it, then I guess I can make an effort to be as well."

"Thank you, Jonouchi," Mokuba said gratefully. "My brother isn't all that bad, really."

Jonouchi gave him a sceptical look. "I'll have to take your word for that," he said. "but if he hurts her..." he tailed off and held up a fist for emphasis, making it clear without words what would happen in Seto Kaiba were to hurt Anzu in any way.

"I don't think it will come to that," Mokuba said. "I'm actually more concerned about Anzu hurting him. He's going to be really vulnerable to something like that and he doesn't have a group of friends to fall back onto for support."

"Humph, he'd just bury himself in that company of his, I'll bet," Jonouchi said, leaning back and crossing his arms defensively.

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of," Mokuba said, looking down worriedly.

Jonouchi was rather taken aback by that. He hadn't taken Mokuba's point of view into account and if Seto buried himself in work, that would make for one worried and lonely Mokuba Kaiba. However, before he could open his mouth and insert his foot even further, Yugi returned.

"Anzu isn't answering her phone" Yugi said. "I'm worried."

"Should we call Kaiba?" Jonouchi wondered. He was surprised as both Mokuba and Yugi looked at him like he had just grown a second head. "What?" he asked defensively.

"I never thought that you would ever have voluntarily suggested calling my brother," Mokuba said, shaking his head wryly.

"Well, it just seemed like the next logical step, you know?" Jonouchi hedged. Mokuba and Yugi gave each other a significant look. It would seem that once Jonouchi had managed to grasp the fact that Anzu and Kaiba being together was OK with Yugi, then by extension it would also be OK with him.

"I think I'll give her a little while longer and try calling her again before calling your brother," Yugi said to Mokuba. "I know that I wouldn't like to risk disturbing him without a good reason."

"Yeah, he has been quite busy over the last week or so," Mokuba said with a troubled expression. "That can't have helped Anzu's stress levels, I'm sure."

"Well, I'm sure she'll feel a lot better when we tell her that we are OK with it," Yugi said. "I hope she gets back soon."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu, however, wasn't heading back at all. She was on her way to the Kaiba mansion, clutching her bag tightly as she had popped into a pharmacy on the way to pick up a pregnancy test. She had noted that there were very few left on the shelf, although she was lucky to pick up the last but one box of a reputable brand. Her embarrassment had not been helped by the sympathetic yet knowing look given to her by the cashier. At least the woman hadn't tried to make small talk, but then after she had been practically ripped a new one by a woman a few ahead of her in line that wasn't really surprising and Anzu thanked her lucky stars that the cashier had learned to keep her mouth shut.

Soon she approached the large iron gates outside the magnificent house where Seto Kaiba, her boyfriend, resided. She pressed the button on the intercom and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Hello?" Isono's cultured tones answered the intercom.

"Hello Isono," Anzu said brightly, trying to keep the strain from her voice. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, Miss Mazaki." There was the sound of a buzzer then the gates swung open. She started up the path and soon came to the front steps of the house where Isono was waiting for her.

"Mr. Kaiba is presently working in his study," Isono said as she entered the hallway. He looked at her with some concern, noting that her strain seemed more pronounced today. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," Anzu said, putting on a smile that came nowhere near her eyes. "I won't disturb him for now, I'll give him chance to get done before I go to him."

"Very well, Miss Mazaki," Isono kept his cool, even though it was clear that something was not right. "However, I shall let him know that you have arrived so that he may be done all the sooner." Isono turned and walked away leaving Anzu to her own devices. She wasted no time in heading up the stairs and to Seto's room, letting herself in and closing the door behind her before heading straight to his en-suite bathroom.

She took a deep breath as she sat on the edge of the bath, finally removing the package from her bag and taking the time to carefully read the instructions.

OK, so they said that the test would give a better reading first thing in the morning, but that it could be used at any time of day. She had bought a pack with two tests inside it, so she decided that despite that warning she would use one now. She couldn't wait until morning. She needed to try and find out one way or another now or she thought she would go mad. Up until this point she had been quite dismissive of women who stressed over knowing whether they were pregnant or not, but now that she was in that situation herself she entirely understood how they felt.

She carefully pulled out one of the tests and removed it from it's wrapper, taking one last look at the pamphlet to make sure that she was doing it right before she began, determined not to make any mistakes.

Then the moment was upon her. She hesitated momentarily as she wondered if she could actually do this, but at the end of the day she knew that the uncertainty was something that she could not tolerate any longer – and she knew that she could not go to Seto with uncertainties, but how she wished that she had the nerve to go and ask Seto for a little support right now.

A couple of moments and a little fumbling later, Anzu had taken the test. Now came the waiting for the results. One line would mean that she was not pregnant, but two would mean that she was, the first line being an indicator that the test was actually working and the second containing the chemical that would detect the hormone her body would only produce if she were actually pregnant.

The following few minutes would probably count as the longest in the history of the entire world, at least as far as she was concerned. She forced herself not to look at the test until the full five minutes were up as she knew that checking, checking and checking again would only seem to make the time pass more slowly and, as the saying went, a watched pot never boils. As it was, she found herself checking her watch fairly often, cursing when it seemed that the hands were hardly moving no matter how long she seemed to leave it between checks. In the end she sat there, holding herself as the time wound down, hardly able to hold herself together as she tried not to think about the results.

Then, suddenly, the five minutes were up and it was time to find out her fate. Even though deep inside she knew what the answer would be, she still clung to the hope that she was mistaken and the result would not be positive. She took a deep breath and picked up the test.

There were two very clear and distinct lines in the little window.

Two lines. Two lines that would change her life irrevocably. She let out her breath in an explosive blast, then sank down to the floor and began to cry.

How could this have happened to her? She had been so careful, responsible, using birth control. Even though she had not been on it for the purposes of having sex, she had always had it in the back of her mind that it would be one less thing to worry about if it were ever to happen, but a problem with the manufacturing process, whether due to negligence or sabotage, had completely ruined all of that. What would her friends say? What would her enemies say? What would her mother say? What of her dancing career? And at the very top of the list, how would Seto react? She couldn't help but give a wry smile as she knew that he would likely sue the pharmaceutical company out of existence, but that wouldn't help her in the here and now.

She took a few more minutes to try and pull herself back into a semblance of togetherness, then, after disposing of the tests in the bin, she picked up her bag and left the bathroom.

Right now it didn't matter that Seto was potentially very busy. He would just have to make time for this. It was just too important to wait!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N**- as an addendum to what I wrote at the top, I actually thought about rewriting this part to make the way it happened different, but I really needed the situation _not_ to be Anzu's fault in _any way_ and this is what I came up with.

I think such a situation may not be terribly likely to happen IRL, but it _could _be a plausible scenario. Plausible enough to write into a fictional story anyway. (Also, I did change this part from what I originally came up with, that being a rogue pharmacist interfering with the pills, because I think that would actually be less plausible than a mass manufacturing fault.)

So, in any case, whether you agree with me or not, thank you for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

Thank you for all your encouraging reviews for the last chapter. They really made me feel much better about it.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto Kaiba scowled as he tried to get done with his work for the day. He had more reason to get finished now as Anzu had said that she was coming over to talk to him about something. She had sounded quite stressed, which had worried him a little, but then maybe she'd finally managed to get to tell Yugi and he had been more upset than she had expected.

He looked up at the clock. It had been a while since Anzu had arrived. Isono had come and told him, but he had decided to try and finish his work and despite his best efforts time was running away from him. He wondered that Anzu hadn't come to find him, but he supposed that it was in her nature to not want to disturb him when he was busy, which was one of the things that he liked about her. She didn't pressure him to work less and see her more. She knew how much the company meant to him and she knew that it did require a lot of work and attention to keep going, but even with her understanding he still ended up skipping out on some work which was why he occasionally had to take time – like today – to catch up. He had wondered several times over these last few weeks whether it was worth it, but he knew deep inside that it was. Anzu had brought something into his life that he had been lacking and he did not want to lose it. That made the extra effort worth it in his mind.

Then the phone rang. "Kaiba," he barked into the handset. These interruptions were not conducive to letting him finish his work any quicker and if it was one of those idiots that he had to employ at Kaiba Corporation then heads would roll!

"Kaiba, it's Yugi," his rival's voice came over the line, surprising Seto slightly. "Is Anzu there with you?"

"Why would she be with me?" he asked coolly, but inside he was doing a small jig. Could this be the moment he had been waiting for? Yes, he would have preferred to see Yugi's face as this happened, but he would take what he could get, especially as he had decided not to go out of his way to rub the fact into Yugi's innocent little face due to the fact that he was actually with Anzu for real and he did not want to risk that now.

"Because she left the arcade rather upset earlier on and... Jonouchi let it slip that she has been seeing you," Yugi said hesitantly.

"And what would the mutt know?" Seto snorted disparagingly.

"He saw you last week – with Anzu," Yugi said.

"So? What could that possibly prove?" Seto said, enjoying this little exchange. Well, he deserved to get a little fun out of it.

"Ah... you were doing more than talking, lets put it that way," Yugi said. "Look, I'm not going to discuss what you were or were not doing, but I know that I believe what Jonouchi said he saw."

"Well whatever, Mutou," Seto drawled. "Fine, you caught me. Anzu asked to come over and see me so she is probably already here and waiting for me." He laughed. "I finally beat you at something Mutou. You might be able to beat me at Duel Monsters or any other game, but I'm the one that won the girl!" He laughed nastily again, then hung up. He turned back to his computer, determined to get this last little bit of work out of the way so he wouldn't have to worry about it and it would leave the rest of the weekend free.

But it was funny, he couldn't help but muse. That phone call had been rather less satisfying than he'd thought it would be.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Yugi walked back into the kitchen with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Yug'," Jou asked, instantly on guard.

"Oh, nothing really," Yugi evaded. "Anzu is over at Kaiba's, but I didn't get to speak to her."

"Why not?" Jou asked, frowning.

"I think they were busy," Yugi evaded, knowing that Jou would draw his own conclusions from that and would likely let it go. He wasn't wrong as Jou flushed slightly and subsided.

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "In that case, I'll let her know when I see her later, OK?" Mokuba had wanted to be the one to call his brother, but Yugi had insisted on doing it for himself and it had clearly not gone well, even if he would not admit anything in front of Jonouchi.

"Thanks Mokuba," Yugi said. "That would probably be for the best. Just let her know that she is free to call me anytime, OK?"

"Will do, Yugi," Mokuba said with some relief that he wouldn't have to argue about it. Not that it would have stopped him telling her anyway as the sooner they could get this sorted out the better for everyone.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu was just coming towards Seto's study when she heard him answer the phone. She decided to wait until he had finished the call as she didn't want to distract him at what could be a critical moment.

However, she couldn't help but overhear what was being said as the door was ajar, but as the one-sided conversation developed, she paled and began to feel faint. He had used her – he had used her to get one over on Yugi. How could she have fallen for it – for him. And now she was pregnant with his child...

She stifled a sob as she pulled herself together somewhat and stumbled away from Seto's study door. She had to get away. She couldn't stay here, not with what she had just learned. She was sure that Seto would just laugh in her face and she couldn't take the humiliation. Not right now.

As she hurried towards the front door, vision swimming with tears, she heard Isono calling after her.

"Miss Mazaki," he called, "is something wrong?" Anzu didn't answer, just shook her head and continued towards the front door. "Miss Mazaki, please wait. I'll go and get Mr. Kaiba..."

"N...no!" she gasped "I'm s...sorry Isono, I just... want to go home."

Isono sighed. "In that case at least let me take you," he said more gently. "You are obviously in no fit state to go home by yourself and I don't want anything to happen to you." The fact that Kaiba would have his hide if something did, went unsaid.

Anzu thought for a moment, then nodded shakily. She may as well take advantage of Kaiba for this one last thing. He owed her that much at least. "Thank you, Isono," she said sadly.

Isono courteously escorted her out to the car. It seemed that the trip passed in a blur then she was home, opening the front door and watching as Isono drove away.

She went into the house, closing the door and sinking to the floor behind it. She had no idea of what she was going to do now. She had never felt so alone.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Isono drove straight back to the Kaiba estate, then wasted no time in making his way to Kaiba's study, knowing that his employer would need to hear of this latest development. He knocked deferentially on the slightly open door and waited to be called in.

"What is it, Isono," Seto said as he closed down his computer and cleared his papers, "and where is Anzu at the moment?"

"That is what I came to discuss with you, sir," the bodyguard said seriously. "Miss Mazaki was here for a while, but I'm afraid that I have just returned from taking her home."

"Why? Was she feeling that unwell?" Seto asked with some concern. Anzu had been under the weather for at least the last several days and he was becoming concerned that it was down to more than the simple stress she had insisted it was.

"I really couldn't say, sir," Isono said with a troubled air. "She seemed to be quite upset when she came here even though she insisted that there was nothing wrong, but she was totally distraught when she left."

"Why didn't you call me?" Seto asked sharply.

"I had intended to, Sir," Isono said calmly; he was used to his master's temperament after all, "but she refused and was intending to leave no matter what, so I used my judgement which told me that it would be for the best if I took her home and reported to you afterwards."

"Thank you, Isono," Seto said. "You did the right thing. I'll call you if I need you again," he said, dismissing the man.

"Very good, Sir," he said, bowing lowly, then he left Seto alone.

The first thing that Seto did was to pick up the phone and dial Anzu's number, but there was no answer. Isono had said that he had taken her home and Seto knew that meant that he would have at least watched as she went into the house before driving away. He also knew that the man was not prone to exaggeration and if Anzu was that upset then it was unlikely that she would have gone anywhere else after that.

Yes, he could have gone straight over to Anzu's house to find out what had got her so upset, but it bothered him that she had chosen not to come to him first and he had no idea over why that should be, so before he did anything else, he rebooted his computer to look into the mansion's CCTV systems to see what had happened for himself, to give himself some idea over what he may be dealing with.

He watched as Anzu first came in and Isono informed her that he was currently working in his study. He could clearly see that she did indeed look stressed, even more stressed than she had for the previous week and that instantly had him on guard.

He followed Anzu's progress, watching as she entered his room – and that was as far as the cameras went. He had absolutely insisted on keeping his privacy in the bedroom and had removed all the cameras from both his and Mokuba's rooms as soon as he had become the head of the Kaiba household.

He sped through the video feed until he saw Anzu emerge from the room about half an hour later and he could see the difference straight away. Yes, she was pale and from the red puffiness of her eyes she had clearly been crying, but she was nowhere near as distraught as Isono had described her and he wondered what else had happened as he knew that Isono would not exaggerate something like that.

He continued to watch as the clearly upset girl came towards his study, her expression making it clear that she felt as though she were walking towards her execution and he wondered again what it was that had her so upset. He heard his phone ringing just as Anzu approached the door and she stopped, clearly not wanting to disturb him whilst he was working. That was Anzu, he smiled as he shook his head, considerate to the very last. But then his eyes widened as he realised just which call he had taken at that time and he watched with horror as Anzu gasped silently and put her hand to her mouth in shock. Then she paled and almost collapsed to the floor, having to put her hand to the wall to support herself. Once she got herself together a few moments later, she moved away from the study as fast as her shaky legs could carry her – at least until Isono had stopped her. He felt a stab go through him as she made it clear to Isono that she didn't want him to be told and that she was going to head home anyway, despite the state she was in. Then Isono had volunteered to take her home instead, something he was very glad of as she was clearly in no state to head anywhere by herself.

Once the video had finished, he tried to call Anzu's home again, still getting no answer. But why would that be? He thought by now that he knew Anzu fairly well and he couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't confronted him once she had realised what the phone call was about. Why had she turned tail and run? That wasn't like her and there had to be something more going on than was readily apparent, more than upset over having overheard him gloating about getting one over on Yugi.

He thought for several long moments as he watched the CCTV footage over again, looking for any clues. She had already been stressed and upset about something when she had first arrived, then after she had spent that half an hour in his room, she had looked even more upset and she had obviously been crying when she had not been before.

She had clearly been on her way to tell him about whatever it was when she had overheard his bragging. That had to have cut deeply and if it it were him that was in her position, he knew that he would never speak to her again.

But maybe this was for the best, he mused. She would have inevitably left him sooner or later and he had reached his original goal of lording it over Yugi, as unsatisfying as it had been, so really there was no reason that he needed to keep her around.

Except that he would miss her, of course. But then he knew that he would get over that. Eventually.

He wearily closed down his computer again, then headed up towards his bedroom. He supposed that he would have to sleep on it and maybe everything would look clearer in the cold light of day.

He reached his bedroom and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He looked around almost absently, the room seeming very empty and lonely to him now. He shook himself out of what threatened to become a funk and headed to the bathroom, intent on taking a long, hot soak. That would help him, he was sure.

He spent a good long time in there, just enjoying the heated water, although he couldn't help but wish that Anzu was there with him, but it wasn't until he was almost ready to get out that he happened to glance over towards the bathroom bin, whose lid was slightly opened with the flap of a blue box sticking out. That was unusual. The staff had been in and cleaned this morning and he knew that he hadn't put anything in it since...

Curiosity now piqued, he stood from the bath and got out, quickly drying himself off and donning his favourite soft robe. With that done he reached into the bin and pulled out the box in question, freezing in place and almost dropping the box on the floor in shock as he realised that it contained an unused pregnancy test. It was a twin pack, however, and one was missing, so, with his mouth now set in a grim line, he reached into the bin once again, this time bringing out a long, white stick with a clear window that very clearly showed two pink lines. He quickly scanned the box to make sure that what he thought he was seeing was correct, then before he knew it he was back in his bedroom, steamingly furious and dialling Anzu's number once again.

When she didn't answer this time, he decided to call a different number.

"Hello?" Yugi said as he answered the call.

"Is your little cheerleader with you?" Kaiba snarled.

"Who? Anzu?" Yugi asked, clearly confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Just tell her the next time you see her that I don't appreciate being fooled and she won't see a single penny from me, got it?" he snapped. "And she had better stay well away from me in future."

"Kaiba, what..." Yugi began to ask what the hell was going on, but Kaiba ignored that, slammed the phone down and swept from the room.

He needed a drink.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

"Kaiba, what the hell is going on?" Yugi asked, but he found himself talking to a dead line. He looked at the phone in utter confusion, then he placed the handset down. He thanked his lucky stars that Jonouchi had gone home for the evening, insisting that his dad would be out on a bender so he was perfectly safe. He knew that his friend would have taken this call very badly and as confirmation that Kaiba was up to no good. However, he did lament that Mokuba had gone home as well as the younger Kaiba brother may have been able to give some insight into what may have gone wrong.

He picked up the handset again and dialled Anzu's number. He let it ring for quite a while, but he didn't get an answer. This was something he wasn't particularly surprised by as he was sure that Kaiba would have tried calling her before resorting to calling him instead.

"Grandpa!" Yugi called out as he picked up his coat and headed towards the door. "I'm heading over to Anzu's."

"Is everything alright?" the old man asked.

"I don't know," Yugi shook his head. "She's not answering her phone so that's why I'm going to find out."

"Be careful then," the old an admonished. He did worry about Yugi but he couldn't stop him from going to make sure that his friend was OK.

"I will," Yugi said as he finished pulling his shoes on. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything." With that he was gone.

Fifteen minutes later found him heading towards Anzu's front door. There was a light on, so it was fairly likely that Anzu was at home, but if she was at home, why hadn't she answered the phone? He knew that he would not get any answers by standing out here on the doorstep so he reached up and rang the bell. He looked up at the window that had previously been lit, blinking when he realised that the light had been extinguished. So Anzu was home and she was clearly not in her right mind as, if she were trying to hide her presence, she had just given away the fact that there was indeed somebody home.

"Anzu," he called through the door, "It's me, Yugi. I'm worried about you." He waited a few more moments. "Anzu?" he called again. "Please answer the door."

The light that had previously been extinguished, lit again and soon there was a figure moving towards the door. The door opened up, but Anzu didn't step out from behind it. Yugi wasted no time in entering, turning to look at Anzu as she closed the door behind him. His eyes widened as he realised that her eyes were puffy and red, like she had been crying for several hours. "Anzu!" he exclaimed, moving towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Yugi!" she cried, throwing herself into her friend's arms and sobbing again. Yugi held onto the distraught girl until she calmed enough for him to escort her to the living room and sit her down on the sofa.

"Ill go and make us a drink," Yugi said gently, knowing that Anzu would need a moment before she would be ready to talk and he was sure that just the fact that someone who cared was here would help her immensely. He waited until she had acknowledged him, then he left to make two strong cups of tea, something else that always seemed to help.

When he returned a few minutes later, Anzu was indeed slightly more composed and she gratefully took the cup that Yugi offered her. Yugi sat down opposite her and waited until she was ready to talk. The silence stretched on for several long, uncomfortable moments before Anzu finally felt able to speak.

"He used me," she said dully, sniffing as those words threatened to undo her composure once again and the tears threatened to return.

"Who? Kaiba?" Yugi asked with wide eyes.

Anzu nodded, taking a sip of her tea before continuing. "He used me to get at you," she said. "He seduced me because..." she tailed off and looked apologetically at her friend, "because he knew that you liked me and I can only ever think of you as a friend. I'm sorry."

"No, that's OK, you don't need to apologise to me," Yugi said with a wan smile. "I think I already knew that things could never be like that between us, but I don't understand." He gave her a puzzled look. "Mokuba told me that his brother might have gone into this with the intention to lord it over me, but he had changed his mind somewhere along the line and was with you for real."

"Mokuba told you?" Anzu asked with some surprise, realising that she hadn't asked how Yugi already known about them. She had thought that Mokuba had understood the need to keep their relationship under wraps, at least for now.

"Yes," Yugi said, inclining his head. "It all came out after your visit to the arcade this afternoon, when Jonouchi admitted that he had been keeping you away from me and why."

"But... how did Jonouchi know?" Anzu asked worriedly.

"He... saw you," Yugi said with a blush. "He followed you here a week last Wednesday, I think he said."

Anzu blushed, thinking she knew what had happened. She had thought she'd seen a shock of blond hair from the corner of her eye as Kaiba was... going down on her, but she had been too far gone to pay it any mind and afterwards had put it down to a figment of her imagination. "Oh," she said simply, not really knowing how to reply to that.

"But... I do have to ask," Yugi looked at her frankly. "Why do you think he is using you?"

"I... I overheard him on the phone to you earlier on," Anzu said, sniffing again as tears threatened to overtake her. "I think he made it pretty clear what his motives were and I'm positive I didn't misunderstand."

"I don't think he meant what he said," Yugi observed. "I think he was just taking the opportunity as it was presented to him. He's not one to let go of his original plans easily and I'm pretty sure that if you had been present he would have let it go."

"You really think so?" Anzu said softly, looking at him beseechingly.

"Yes, I really do," Yugi confirmed. "Now that I've had it rubbed in my face, so to speak, I can see the signs – and thinking back on it, I've seen how Kaiba looks at you when he thinks that no one is watching him. To start with I thought he was up to something nefarious, but now I'm pretty sure that wasn't it at all."

"Well, that's good, I guess," Anzu said morosely. "But... there is more to it than that." She began to cry again. Yugi put his cup down and moved from the chair where he was sitting to sit next to her on the sofa.

"What is it, Anzu?" he asked. "What's wrong?" He held the girl as she cried for several long minutes before he spoke again, as gently as he could. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"I... I don't think you can help me with this?" Anzu said, sniffing, then blowing her nose.

"Try me," Yugi said. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Hold onto that thought," Anzu said, shaking her head. "I take it you have seen the news today?" she asked as she wiped at her eyes.

"Yes..." Yugi said warily.

"So you saw the story about the birth control pills?" she said.

Yugi's eyes widened with astonishment as he couldn't fail to put two and two together. "Anzu, you're..." he tailed off with shock.

"Yes, I was one of the unlucky ones and now I'm... I'm pregnant." she sobbed again.

"So that explains the call..." Yugi mused.

"What call?" Anzu asked, looking at him with worried eyes. She had a bad feeling about what Yugi was about to say.

Yugi gave her a sympathetic look. He could have tried to brush it off and keep it from her, but he couldn't lie to his oldest friend and he knew it would be worse if he kept it from her. "Kaiba called the game shop about twenty minutes before I arrived at your front door," he said. "That was how I knew to come here despite you not answering your phone."

"Oh, I did wonder about that," Anzu said. She looked at him, noticing his sympathetic expression. "There's a but coming, isn't there?" she observed.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Anzu," Yugi said. "Kaiba said that he doesn't appreciate being fooled and that you won't be seeing a penny from him."

"Damn, he must have found the tests," she said, hanging her head. "I wasn't thinking straight when I first saw the results and instead of putting them back in my bag, I put them in the bin." She shook her head sadly. "There is no other way he could have found out."

"But why does he think you tricked him?" Yugi asked. "Surely he must have seen the news and even if he hasn't, why should he assume that you did this on purpose?"

"It doesn't matter," Anzu said as she began to sob again. "The fact remains that I am pr... pregnant, the father has made it clear that he does not want to know and my life is effectively over." She tried to choke back her sobs. "What the hell am I going to do?"

"I'll stick by you whatever happens, you know that, don't you?" Yugi said with conviction. "Come on." He pulled the girl into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

"Thank you Yugi," she said between sobs. "I don't deserve you."

"Don't be silly, you are my oldest friend," Yugi said with a smile. "I could do no less." He patted her on the back and waited until she had calmed down a bit. "Now I think you should go and get some rest. It has been a draining day for you."

"I... I suppose I should try," she said tiredly, although she couldn't help but look apprehensive.

"Don't worry, I'll stay right here in case you need me," Yugi said. "I'll just call Grandpa and let him know whilst you get ready. He'll be having kittens because I haven't called him yet."

Anzu smiled then, the thought crossing her mind was that of the old man hissing like an angry cat. "Thank you, Yugi," she said, heading off with a slightly happier air.

She didn't think she would get very much sleep, but perhaps things wouldn't look quite so bleak in the morning.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Thank you for reading. :)


	16. Chapter 16

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - just so you know, this story has 24 chapters in total. Also, thank you for your reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto Kaiba may have gone to bed, but he certainly hadn't gone to sleep. His mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions and many things that he had never felt before. He felt both betrayed and worried – and he also worried over what that may mean.

He turned over, forgetting about sleep for the moment as he stared at the wall, trying to get his thoughts into some semblance of order.

Anzu had obviously lied to him about being on birth control but he had taken her word for it at the time, so in a way the current situation was partially his own fault. If he had remembered to use a condom then it would most definitely not have been an issue as when Anzu would have told him that it was not necessary and explained why, he would probably have blown up in a similar way to how he actually had and that would most likely have been the end of that. She would have gone home and things would have gone sour between them – and he would have lost his chance to gloat.

But that chance had come at what cost? He had been tricked and now... now he could never trust again. He had trusted Anzu and look what had happened. He couldn't believe that Anzu would do something like that, to try and trap him, but it just went to show that you never could tell.

But... if she had deliberately got pregnant, why hadn't she come into his study to confront him, all triumphant as he would have expected of any of the harpies that had tried to get him into bed in the past? Why had she already looked as though her world had ended before she had overheard him gloating to Yugi? And how he wished he hadn't indulged in that wish to gloat now. Although he had won this round, finally beating the smaller teen at something, the victory had felt very hollow and it was now tainted, as if he had lost something very precious that he hadn't known he'd possessed.

He turned over again, cursing as he was unable to get his mind to rest even with the assistance of alcohol. But even there, Anzu had her influence, the 'remedy' for avoiding a hangover causing him to think of her even when he was the worse for wear.

And so it was a weary Seto Kaiba that appeared at breakfast the next morning.

"Good morning, Seto," Mokuba said cheerily, then he sobered as he took in his brother's appearance. "Wow, you look terrible. Did you have a bad night or something?" He couldn't help but grin cheekily as he said that.

"You could say that," Seto said woodenly, staring at his breakfast plate feeling as nauseous as Anzu must have done for the last week or so.

"Where's Anzu?" Mokuba asked after a moment. "Is she coming down to breakfast?"

"She's... not here," Seto said. "She went home last night."

"What!" Mokuba exclaimed. "What did you do?" he demanded, giving his brother a glare worthy of any Kaiba.

"I didn't do a damned thing," Seto snapped. "Now eat your breakfast." He picked up the paper, opening it directly to the business pages, wanting to shield himself from the accusing glare of his younger brother. He really didn't need that right now.

Mokuba sighed, seeing that Seto had closed himself off and wasn't likely to say anything else, at least for the moment. He decided to change the subject hopefully to something more neutral.

"I feel really sorry for those women," he said with a sigh.

"What women?" Seto said, not putting the paper down.

"Good grief, Seto," Mokuba gasped. "Do you only ever read the business pages or something? It's front page news!" He shook his head wryly. "The biggest provider of birth control pills has sent out several batches of blanks due to a fault in the manufacturing process and they don't know how many women have been affected yet. It's a massive scandal."

"What?" Seto asked, finally looking over the paper at Mokuba with something akin to horror on his features. "You are kidding, right?"

"Nope," Mokuba said. "Look at the front page," he pointed at the paper. "They only found out when they did some supposedly routine maintenance and discovered that the active ingredient wasn't being put into the pills. They're trying to play it down but there's been a run on pregnancy tests and other forms of contraception in the last day or so."

Seto turned to look at the front page. There it was in black and white. What a scandal indeed. He abruptly stood.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked worriedly. "Aren't you going to have your breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry," Seto said numbly. "I... I need to go."

Mokuba watched Seto go with concern. He'd never seen his brother act in such a manner before, so he got up to follow him from the room.

"You can stay and eat your breakfast," Seto said. "This is something I need to do on my own."

"What's wrong, Seto?" Mokuba asked. "You're worrying me."

"I'm fine," Seto said, although Mokuba could tell that he wasn't anywhere near fine. "I just... need to go. I'll talk to you when I get back." His tone did not leave any room for discussion.

"Alright, Seto," Mokuba said as he looked a little downcast. "Is it OK if I head over to a friend's in a while?"

"Have you finished all of your homework?"

"I will have before I go," Mokuba replied. "Please?"

"In that case, yes you can, but I want to see you back here no later than six, understood?"

"Yes, big brother," Mokuba said, brightening up, then he went back to his breakfast as Seto headed out of the door. Seeing as Seto would be busy for the day, Mokuba decided that he would head over to the game shop. After all, he hadn't told Seto which friends he was going to see and Seto hadn't said that he couldn't and he hoped to find out why Anzu wasn't here. He was just hoping that Yugi may have some answers and if not, maybe they could head over to her house.

He just hoped that Seto hadn't done anything too bad.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Ten minutes later, Seto Kaiba was stood looking warily at Anzu's front door. He had to wonder, did he really want to do this? He knew that entering that house would likely change everything, no matter what had occurred beforehand. Was he really ready for this?

He froze at that last thought. If he wasn't ready for this, then what about Anzu? She didn't even have the very limited choice that he pretended to, she was well and truly stuck with the problem and she couldn't very well walk away from it. Plus if she were pregnant, then he knew beyond a doubt that the child was his, he could be sure of that. Whatever else may be said of her, Anzu was not the kind to cheat.

He started as the door opened and Yugi stuck his head out. "Are you going to stand out there all day?" he asked wearily. "Come on in before someone sees you and calls the press."

"Mutou," Kaiba growled, stepping smartly to the front door and barging past him. He hardly waited for the door to be closed before he started in. "What the fuck are you doing here?" he demanded harshly.

"First, keep it down a touch," Yugi said, ignoring both the question and the growl that Kaiba was emitting as Yugi told him what to do. "Anzu has been awake on and off most of the night and she's only just settled again." Then he gave Kaiba a frank look. "As for _why_ I am here, it's because she needed a _friend _last night." Kaiba flinched at the accusation in those words, but then Yugi was pushing past him. "I need a coffee," the diminutive duelist muttered as he entered the kitchen. Seto watched him warily for a moment, then followed him into the room.

"How is she?" he asked, finally able to swallow some of that damned pride of his.

"Upset," Yugi said as he placed two cups on the table and bade Kaiba to sit.

"Understandable." Seto said, picking up the mug of coffee and taking a sip of the hot liquid. He noted that Yugi had made it exactly as he liked it, just as Anzu had done a few weeks beforehand. He would have scowled about that, but he knew that now was not the time.

"So, why are you here now, Kaiba," Yugi said, a little more sharply than he would normally have done, showing how irritated and upset he was on Anzu's behalf.

"I... I made a mistake," Kaiba said, the words dragged from him grudgingly. He never thought that he would ever admit such a thing in front of his rival, yet he felt compelled to continue as Yugi looked at him expectantly. "I should never have tried to gloat about my... 'victory'. Such things should have moved beyond my consideration by then." he sighed, "And I should not have accused Anzu of trying to trick me." He looked at Yugi was a slightly worried air. "I hope you didn't tell her that," he said.

"I'm sorry, but I did have to mention it," Yugi admitted, "and she didn't take it too well I'm afraid."

Kaiba sighed and rubbed one hand over his immaculate locks. "I can't blame her," he said. "But I want it on record that I know she is not the type of person that would do such a thing."

"Noted," Yugi said wryly. "I take it that you had not seen the news at the time?" he asked.

"No, I had not," Kaiba admitted. "In fact I didn't find out until Mokuba pointed out the story on the front page of the paper this morning, which is one of the reasons that I felt compelled to come here. Actually, I think I would have ended up here eventually today, even without that motivation." He gave Yugi an indescribable look. "So tell me, the test I found..." he paused. "It was definitely Anzu's, right?"

Yugi nodded solemnly. "Yes, it was Anzu's and yes, she is pregnant." he said that carefully, not knowing how Kaiba might react even now, when he was being so... reasonable.

Seto, although he had already known the answer, let out an explosive sigh and dropped his head into his hands. "Damn it, I am NOT father material," he muttered.

"I don't think I would agree with that," Yugi ventured gently. "You've done a really good job with Mokuba."

"I don't know about that," Seto said dully, "I only had to give up my humanity to try and keep him safe, which only ended up putting him in even more danger."

"But you got your humanity back and Mokuba was safe in the end," Yugi said. "The fact that you were prepared to go to such lengths..."

"Thank you, Yugi," he said, at least somewhat sincerely. "But this isn't all about me is it?" he asked. "There is Anzu to consider." He paused a moment. "Her dreams of dancing..."

"Oh," Yugi looked sad. "She was quite upset about that," he said. "It really was her dream."

Seto pulled out his phone then, swiftly dialling Antoine's number. Yugi watched quizzically, wondering who Kaiba was calling.

"Hello Seto," Antoine greeted as he answered the call. "It's unusual to hear from you at this time of a Sunday morning."

"Antoine," Seto greeted with a tense undertone to his voice. "We, that is Anzu and myself, have an issue that we need to discuss with you."

"Oh, it's nothing too serious, I hope?" Antoine paused to consider. "I needed to talk to you both anyway. I'm concerned that Anzu has been a little off colour this last week and I think this will be a good opportunity to find out why."

"I suspect that it may be related to the same thing that we need to talk to you about," Seto said cryptically, "but I'm afraid that it isn't something that I wish to talk about over the phone, so could we come over and see you some time today?"

"Of course," Antoine said happily. "I'm always happy to see you and I will be in all day. Pop around at any time and I'll make sure to have a pot ready."

"Good, I shall see you soon," he said. "And thank you," he added belatedly before he hung up.

"Do you think that Anzu will be up to visiting anyone at the moment?" Yugi asked with concern.

"I hope so," Seto said, "but Antoine will understand if we have to reschedule."

"Oh, that's good," Yugi said, although he was still clearly concerned.

"Don't worry so much," Seto said shortly. "I'm not about to force her to go if she's not up to it and I'm not going to abandon her. She is... very important to me and I will look after her."

"Do you love her?" Yugi asked suddenly.

Kaiba felt trapped all of a sudden. It was one thing to talk to Yugi about his relationship, but as difficult as that was it was nothing compared to talking about... feelings. There was just no way that he could bring himself to say anything, so he flicked a look at Yugi then turned to stare out of the window, trying to make out that he hadn't heard the question.

Yugi smirked internally. He may deny it, even to himself, but it was fairly obvious that Kaiba had deep feelings for Anzu. He would not have come running over here like he had otherwise.

Seto stood suddenly, shocking Yugi who had not been expecting it. "I'm going to go up and see how she is," he declared.

"But she's only just got to sleep," Yugi protested. "Shouldn't you let her get a bit more rest first?

"Somehow, with something like this hanging over her, I doubt that she's sleeping," Seto observed, "at least not very well. But I shall be quiet, just in case."

Yugi nodded, knowing that no matter how concerned he was for Anzu, he had no right to stop Kaiba from seeing her if that was what he desired, especially considering the circumstances.

Kaiba left the room and walked quietly up the stairs so as not to wake Anzu if she were actually sleeping. He came to her bedroom door and carefully pushed it open, stepping inside and looking over towards the bed where she resided. She did actually appear to be asleep, but it certainly was not a restful slumber by any means as she whimpered and began to sob quietly.

"Anzu," Seto said in a low tone, hoping to free the girl from whatever nightmare it was that he had probably caused her to experience. "Wake up, Anzu."

Anzu sat up suddenly, eyes wide, still gasping as she broke free of her fitful sleep. She saw Seto standing in her room, but it was all too much and she had to go... She shot up from the bed and out into the bathroom where she threw up noisily into the toilet. As she heaved, she registered a hand on her back and another holding her hair back from falling into her face. A few moments later she finally finished painfully retching against an empty stomach and went to stand on unsteady legs.

"S... Seto," she said with a scratchy voice as he moved to support her. She was glad of that, because she felt that she may just have fallen over otherwise.

"Are you alright," he asked her with some concern.

She nodded once as she moved to the sink and wiped her face, then she flushed the toilet before turning back to the sink to first rinse her mouth then brush her teeth. As she scrubbed at them with copious amounts of toothpaste – she really needed to get rid of the taste – she looked into the mirror and noted that Seto was watching her with a frankly unreadable expression. She finished brushing quickly, rinsed her mouth again, but even once she was done with that she kept her back to him, unable to bring herself to face him whilst she was still feeling as though she had let him down.

"I... I'm sorry," she said, trying and miserably failing to prevent her vulnerability from showing through.

"Don't apologise," he said, swallowing his pride and hesitantly taking a step towards her. "If anyone should be apologising here, it's me." He took a deep breath as Anzu turned and looked at him worriedly. "I'm sorry for using you to get one over on Yugi." He continued quickly as Anzu's expression turned stricken, "However, I had moved beyond that some weeks ago and I promise that I was with you genuinely, but I foolishly took the chance to gloat yesterday and I regret that." His expression turned more gentle, "I'm also sorry for even considering for a moment that you would have become pregnant on purpose to trap me. That is not your style at all. I can only ask that you forgive me."

"I... I..." Anzu didn't seem to know what to say. She had hardly expected Seto to come here at all, never mind openly admit to what he had done and to apologise. She could see that he was sincere and, full of relief that he did actually care about what happened to her after all, she threw herself into his arms.

Seto pulled her into his embrace and she sighed with relief, feeling much better now that she knew that she would not be left to cope alone, especially after the dream that had left her so shaken and had contributed to her nausea.

"Have you been sick much?" Seto asked after a moment, concern for her showing through again.

"No," she shook her head. "I've felt nauseous but this is the first time that I've actually thrown up."

"Well, it's nice to know that seeing my face first thing in the morning has such an effect on you," Seto quipped, trying to lighten the mood at least a little.

Anzu leaned back and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "That's not true and you know it," she said, then she looked somewhat troubled. "It was mainly caused by something I was dreaming about," she mused.

"What happened?" Seto asked. Even if he would never admit it, he knew the power of dreams.

"I... I don't know," Anzu replied. "All I can remember is that it was horrible and I was utterly terrified."

She looked so troubled that Seto decided that it would be best to distract her. "We should go down," he said. "Yugi is sure to have heard you being sick and, with him being the way he is, he's bound to have some soothing drink ready for you."

"You are right there," Anzu said with a smile, "I'm lucky to have a friend like Yugi." She let Seto escort her down the stairs, trying not to think too hard about things. She may be putting a brave face on it, but she desperately wished to know what he was thinking and she really wanted to ask him, but she felt too emotionally fragile to even try right now, especially as she feared that she may not want to know the answer.

But he was here and, no matter what, that had to be an encouraging sign.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - I was reading back through the story a couple of days back and I noticed several missing words and typos. (The typos are usually down to a missing letter M as my keyboard is weird with that.)

I'll have to go through and fix those at some point. (And I can't help but wonder how I missed them when I was editing. I guess a bit of distance really does make a difference.)

Thanks for reading. :)


	17. Chapter 17

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Thank you for your reviews. They do encourage me to keep going. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Of course, as expected, Yugi had a stomach calming tea and some dry toast ready for Anzu when she arrived downstairs so as to help to get her nausea under control.

All three of them sat in silence as Anzu gratefully took the calming tea and nibbled on the dry toast. It seemed that nobody wanted to be the first to speak.

Seto drank the coffee that had been refreshed for him and wondered how Yugi could stand to be in the same room as them without telling them to stuff it and walking out of the door. After all, just a scant few weeks ago he would have done exactly that himself, if he would even have deigned to be in the same room as them by choice to start with. That he was sitting here and calmly drinking coffee with his biggest rival and his head cheerleader was something that he would never have thought could be a remote possibility, much less than them actually being civil to each other. Could the fact that he had let his rivalry with Yugi diminish somewhat along with accepting Anzu into his life really have made such a large difference to his outlook and attitude? Or was there something more behind it?

"You know what?" Anzu said quietly, clearly unable to endure the silence any longer, "I never thought that we could all sit here together civilly like this." Kaiba gave her a sharp look as she had unconsciously echoed his own thoughts almost exactly.

"I had been wondering about things too," Yugi said thoughtfully, but he tempered that with a wary look at Kaiba as if he were unsure whether the other would explode at any moment. "It just seems like... a rather sudden change."

"What's to wonder," Kaiba said, feeling that he had to say something at this point. "Maybe it's simply down to the fact that I've finally accepted that I will never beat you in a duel." He didn't mention Anzu's role as he decided that he was rubbing Yugi's face in it enough just by being here.

"I don't know," Anzu mused. "I can't help but feel that there is more to it than that."

"How do you mean?" Yugi asked.

Anzu gave Seto a wary look of her own, but she brightened slightly as he reassured her by reaching over and squeezing her hand. "I think that whilst... Atem was still here, we were all bound by whatever his destiny was, or maybe we were all somehow influenced by the power of the millennium items." She shrugged. "Things have changed so much since all that was put to rest and in such a short space of time that I can only equate it to us all being... freed." She steeled herself as she expected Seto to up and deny it quite forcefully, but she was surprised when she dared to look at him to find that he was actually considering the possibility.

"You... may actually have a point," Seto conceded reluctantly. "What?" he asked as both Yugi and Anzu looked at him as though he had just grown a second head.

"Well, that's convinced me," Yugi said, sitting back. "There is no way on earth that you would ever have accepted that before we all went to Egypt."

"Fine, I think we can accept that miracles can happen, but just don't ask me to get along with the mutt," Kaiba said with a wry smile. "That would be a stretch too far."

"Jonouchi isn't so bad," Anzu said, "and his heart is very much in the right place, but... I won't push it," she sighed and looked down, sniffing as everything threatened to become to much for her.

"What's wrong, Anzu?" Yugi asked with concern.

"It's just... I don't know what I'm going to do," She stopped sniffling again. "I'm sorry," she said, desperately trying to get herself under control, thinking that Seto wouldn't want to put up with a weeping woman, especially one that was supposed to be his girlfriend. This really wasn't like her and she wondered that she just couldn't stop.

She and Yugi were both surprised, however, when Seto stood, pulled her up from her chair and gathered her into his arms. Anzu looked up at him with shock in her damp eyes.

"Tell me what is worrying you," Seto said gently as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that," Yugi said, both grateful for the chance to escape and for the opportunity to give them some space.

Anzu waited until Yugi had gone, then began to speak hesitantly. "I... I honestly didn't want to fall pregnant," she said. "Everything feels so weird. Like it's not really happening to me."

"That's quite understandable," Seto replied. "I'm feeling odd enough about things myself and I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for you."

"It's just..." she sniffed, "I feel like I've lost everything," she said sadly. "My dancing career is over before it could even begin and my mother..." she tailed off and struggled to hold herself together, something that appeared to be a losing battle.

Seto sighed and held her close. It didn't matter how few women had allegedly been affected by this 'mishap', he would make sure that the people behind it paid dearly. He didn't know about the girl's mother, but for Anzu to feel like she had lost her dancing... To give up such a thing, he realised, would be tantamount to him either having to give up Kaiba Corporation or send his brother back to the orphanage. Neither option would be acceptable to him.

"You shouldn't have to give up dancing," Seto said, rubbing his hand up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner. "We will go and see Antoine and explain your situation. I'm sure that between us we can come up with a plan to help you."

"Oh my God, hell has officially frozen over!" Jonouchi exclaimed as he barged into their moment. "I never thought you would actually admit that you were with her, Kaiba."

"Shut your yapping, mutt," Seto snapped. "What the hell are you doing here?" He noted that Anzu had made to shrink away when he shouted at Jonouchi, but he knew that to let her would be a mistake, so he deliberately pulled her back to him.

Jonouchi was about to say something that would make the situation even worse, but Yugi placed a hand on his arm, instantly calming him. "Sit down, Jonouchi," Yugi said reasonably. Jonouchi almost carried on, but then he got the idea that there was something more going on here than was apparent on the surface, so he sat down and waited to see what would happen, although he did not stop glowering at Kaiba.

Seto gave Anzu a squeeze, then guided her back to her chair, snagging his own chair and bringing it towards them so that he could sit down close to her, to lend her his support. He looked at her, knowing that, despite the fact that they were not alone, he had to ask the next question. "Now, tell me what your mother will do."

Anzu gave him a stricken look. "When she... finds out... she'll probably demand that," she flicked a look at Jonouchi, "I have to do as she says or she will kick me out."

Seto's face tightened at the thought of what Anzu could possibly mean by 'do as she says'. For all that this pregnancy would make Anzu's life – and his – more difficult, the effects of a termination both on Anzu's psyche and on their relationship would be almost inevitably ruinous, especially if she felt that it had been forced on her. Fortunately, she did not seem to be considering it and he certainly wasn't about to suggest such a thing. But as to the problem of her mother, well, he thought that he may have a way to potentially deal with that, but he did not want to discuss that here and potentially embarrass both of them in front of Yugi and Jonouchi.

He stood again, shocking the rest of the occupants in the room. "Anzu, could I speak to you in private please?"

"Um... sure," she said, standing and following Seto from the room. This left Yugi and Jonouchi alone, and Yugi knew the questions would come. He wasn't wrong.

"Yugi, what the hell is going on?" Jou asked.

Yugi sighed. "Anzu's pregnant."

"WHAAAT?"

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu and Seto walked to the living room, out of immediate earshot of the two left in the kitchen, but Seto still shut the door behind them to make sure that they could not be overheard. However, they could not help but hear Jonouchi's outraged exclamation even through the closed door.

Anzu flinched. "Well, he took it just about as well as I thought he would," she said with a sigh. Seto simply rolled his eyes. He just hoped that Mutou could hold the mutt off whilst he spoke with Anzu in private.

"Would your mother really throw you out?" he asked abruptly.

"Probably," Anzu said, looking down. "Unless... unless I were to get a termination, but," she turned pleading eyes on Seto, "even if she throws me out and I end up on my own, I couldn't do it." And that was the absolute truth. Despite the fact that this pregnancy had not been planned and was going to change her life irrevocably, at the end of the day it was not the child's fault and it _had_been conceived out of an act of love - at least on her part.

She looked down again trying desperately to get a hold of herself, but between her haywire hormones and feeling that her life was all but over, she couldn't hold it back any longer and she began to sob. She slumped to the sofa and placed her face in her hands.

Seto sighed, kneeling down in front of Anzu where she sat. "Anzu, we will get though this," he said gently. "But right now we need to think about protecting you."

"What do you mean by that?" Anzu asked.

"First of all, we need to protect you from your mother." He paused. "You haven't had your 18th birthday yet, have you?" he observed.

"No," she shook her head. "I don't turn eighteen until August."

"That could cause a problem," he mused. "I'll need to get her permission, but I can work on that..."

"What are you saying, Seto?" she asked, confused.

"I'm saying," he paused, took her hand and looked into her eyes, "Anzu, will you marry me?"

"What?" Anzu was shocked. She hadn't know what to expect when he had asked to speak to her in private but she honestly hadn't expected this. "You don't have to do that," she protested.

"No, I don't have to," he agreed, "but I want to."

"Why?" Anzu pressed.

"It just feels like the right thing to do," Seto said, "and heaven knows it's about time I started listening to those kinds of feelings. So... what do you say?"

Anzu thought quickly. Yes, it could be a terribly bad idea. She did love Seto, but despite that she held no illusions that things couldn't go south very easily. But then she was supposed to be an optimist and things did have a chance of working out and she would never know if she didn't try, so... "If we can get my mother's agreement then... yes, I would be honoured to be your wife," she said.

Seto moved in and kissed her soundly. "Thank you, Anzu," he said softly.

"No, thank _you_, Seto," She said, leaning into his embrace. "Thank you for caring about what happens to me."

They stayed there close together for a few moments longer, enjoying this somewhat happy moment for themselves before they had to return back to the real world. He stood, pulling her up with him. "I will contact your mother tomorrow," he said, "But for now we'll have to go back to the kitchen and I suppose that we'll have to let your... friends know what is going on."

"I'm sure they won't be pleased," she fretted.

"But this isn't about them," Seto pointed out. "This is about you and what is best for you. If they are real friends, then they should accept that this is what you want and leave it be."

"I know," Anzu said. "Sometimes they can go a bit far, but at the end of the day they do have my best interests at heart."

"Hmm," Seto avoided giving an answer to that. "Then we will have to go and see Antoine." He sighed as he noticed Anzu paling slightly. "Don't worry so much," he said. "Antoine is a more than reasonable man. I'm sure that he won't blame you, especially once he's heard the full story."

Anzu gave him a look that clearly said 'you did', but he let that pass, he couldn't blame her after all. "One thing," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"When it comes to dealing with my mother, I'll speak to her," she said. "If she realises that I'm marrying you, she might not give permission or she may try to make some kind of capital out of it." She frowned. "I want to try and keep her in the dark until it's all done and dusted."

"If you think that's for the best," Seto said, appreciating both her concerns and the fact that she was willing to take some kind of control over her fate. However, he renewed his decision to research the woman, to find out for himself what kind of person she was without having to peer through Anzu's obvious prejudices, as legitimate as they may be. And he would also try to find out what had happened to her father. It had not escaped his notice that she had never mentioned the man and despite it concerning him somewhat, he really did not want to bring it up right now as she had quite enough worrying her at the moment.

Putting that out of his mind he walked her back to the kitchen to find an uncomfortable looking Yugi and Jonouchi along with an annoyed looking Mokuba.

"Mokuba," Seto said with annoyed surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"Seto?" Mokuba whirled around to look at his brother with shock. I'm here because you said that I could spend time with my friends today and... when I went to the game shop I was told that they were here." He looked at his so called friends with a glare, "not that they will tell me what is going on."

Seto guided the now pale Anzu to a chair and sat her down. At least those two had known better than to say anything to his brother, one thing he could be grateful for, he supposed.

"That may be because it will ultimately have an effect on your life and it was not their place to say so," he said, flicking Yugi and Jonouchi a somewhat grateful look, "I must thank you both for that." Yugi looked a little relieved, but Jonouchi scowled and crossed his arms in annoyance.

"What do you mean that it will affect me?" Mokuba wanted to know, but before Seto could think to formulate his reply, Mokuba's eyes widened as he connected the dots. How Seto had acted after he had pointed out the newspaper article was key. "You... you're a victim of that birth control scandal," he said to Anzu, a look of horror on his face. "You're pregnant."

Anzu slumped down at the accusing tone in the younger Kaiba's voice. This was not going well. Seto noted Anzu's reaction and placed a hand on her shoulder, but it was Yugi who spoke.

"Mokuba," he said, "it is not Anzu's fault."

"I know that," Mokuba said. "I'm just upset that the scandal has affected someone so close to me... and..." he looked at Seto, "what are you going to do?" he asked warily. A few weeks ago, he wouldn't have put it past Seto to simply dump Anzu and leave her to struggle on her own, but Seto's attitude had mellowed over the last several weeks and Mokuba took some comfort in the fact that he was actually here and standing close to Anzu.

"We are going to get married," Seto said without preamble, knowing that there was no point in trying to soften that blow.

"What?" Jonouchi exclaimed, only just having managed to get his head around the idea that Anzu was actually pregnant. That she was going to marry the man that disliked him so much was just too much for him to take. "I'm sorry, I can't accept that," he said, picking up his bag and walking out without another word.

Anzu let out a small moan at Jonouchi's reaction and Kaiba tensed, but once again Yugi was the one who spoke. "Don't worry about Jonouchi," he said. "He's just had one shock too many today. He'll come around."

Seto nodded, not really caring about what the mutt thought beyond the fact that it would upset Anzu. He turned to his brother. "Mokuba," he said gently, "will you be alright with this?"

Mokuba looked at Seto and the very pale looking Anzu, knowing that he had the power to say yay or nay and Seto would probably do whatever he said, even at cost to himself. But Mokuba wasn't that selfish and he knew that would not be the right thing to do. Anzu was carrying what would be his niece or nephew and he could not live with himself if he caused family to be left out in the cold, not after what had happened to Seto and himself. Besides, he liked Anzu and she had been really good for Seto.

He smiled then, "I'm OK with that," he said. "Welcome to the family, Anzu."

"Thank you, Mokuba," Anzu said quietly, then she let out an OOF! As Mokuba ran around the table and tackled her into a hug.

"That's OK, big sis," Mokuba said, causing Anzu to gasp and then dissolve into tears.

Kaiba looked across at Yugi, who, despite trying to put a brave face on things, was looking completely lost. "Mutou," he began, trying to keep his tone conciliatory, "I..."

"Don't apologise, Kaiba," Yugi said, brightening up and giving a smile that looked rather fake. "I think that things probably worked out this way for a reason and if Anzu is happy then I can be happy too."

"Thank you, Yugi," Anzu said, saving Kaiba from answering and possibly saying something that would not be appropriate in the circumstances, "But would you... come to the wedding when we can arrange it? You're my friend and it wouldn't feel right if you weren't there."

"Sure, I can do that," Yugi said sadly. "What sort of friend would I be if I refused? When is it going to be?"

"We're not sure yet," Kaiba said, looking fondly down at Anzu as Mokuba continued to hug her. "Anzu has to deal with her mother first..."

"Then there is always the chance of a miscarriage," Anzu said quietly, interrupting the flow. "The reason that most women don't announce that they are pregnant until they reach three months is because that is the most likely time for such a thing to happen, so I would prefer to wait and make sure that it doesn't before undertaking such a huge commitment." What went unsaid was that it would also give time for them to cool down and think about what was happening, to give time for either of them to change their minds. After all, this was a decision that was not to be undertaken lightly.

Seto looked slightly taken aback by that, but rolled with it for now. "Fine. I think we can keep things quiet for at least that long, but we shall still have to keep it quiet for a little longer after that until we are out of school. Then we can have a proper ceremony to appease the public. That is... if Anzu agrees?" Seto looked at her expectantly.

"Yes, I'd like that," Anzu said. She may not be the girliest of girls, but she still had her dreams of a big wedding, something she had thought she was about to be cheated of.

"OK, I can understand that," Yugi said. "Now... I should go..."

"You don't have to," Anzu said, looking at her friend with concern.

"It's fine," Yugi said. "You have things to discuss and I should go after Jonouchi and start talking him around."

"Don't worry bout him," Seto said disparagingly. "He's not worth it."

Anzu slapped Seto gently on the hand. "Be nice, Seto," she said. "Jonouchi is an important friend to me – and Mokuba. Now I know that you will never be bosom buddies, but..."

"Fine," he sighed, accepting that Anzu came with a lot of baggage in the form of friends that he would have to put up with and he would have to make some effort. "Despite what I said earlier, for you – and Mokuba – I will try to get on with Jonouchi."

"Thank you, Seto," she replied, "that's all I can ask for."

"I'll be off then," Yugi said, drawing their attention back to him. "Just remember that if you need anything, you know where I am."

"Thank you Yugi," Anzu said. "I'll see you at school, OK?"

Once Yugi had gone, Seto sat back down. "Do you think that you will be up to seeing Antoine today?"

Anzu sighed. "I... yes I think I am. I'll have to get it over with sooner or later." She disentangled herself from Mokuba's embrace and stood. "Just let me shower and dress then I'll be with you."

She left the room, leaving Seto and Mokuba alone for the first time since breakfast.

"Seto," Mokuba said as he sat down opposite his brother. "Are you alright with this? Really?"

"I..." Seto paused and let out a sigh as he dropped his head into his hands. "To be completely honest? No, I'm not really," he said.

"Why did she go home yesterday?" Mokuba asked.

"She overheard me on the phone bragging to Yugi about getting one over on him," Seto admitted.

"Oh Seto," Mokuba shook his head in exasperation at his brother's inability to let things go. "So why didn't you go after her?"

"You know that I've always been worried about some harpy coming along and attempting to dupe me," he said. "I found the pregnancy test in the bathroom bin and assumed the worst."

"But Anzu would never do something like that," Mokuba protested.

"I do know that," Seto said ruefully. "She was ready to go it alone, to give up her dreams and devote herself to her child and I can't help but admire that."

"But marriage?" Mokuba asked. "That's a huge step, Seto." He looked at his brother with serious eyes that appeared old in his young face.

"Yes, but it is to protect Anzu and the child as well as myself," he said. "Can you imagine the scandal if the press got wind that I got a classmate pregnant and left her to fend for herself? And it's not guaranteed that she would get much in the way of compensation if anything at all from the contraceptive manufacturer as they will probably try to claim that she just took the pills wrongly and, as she should have finished that packet and thrown it away by now, there is no longer any proof that those particular pills were amongst the ones affected. That's the sad reality. Not that it will stop me from finding a way to make them pay." His expression darkened as he thought about how to enact such a thing.

"As long as you are sure," Mokuba said, breaking Seto out of his thoughts, "I'll be happy to have Anzu as a big sister, but..."

"But?" Seto prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"How is she going to feel about giving up dance?" Mokuba asked. "You know that her dream was to be a world renowned dancer."

"I'm sure that we can come up with something," Seto said. "She may have to put it on hold for a while, but I'll make sure that she does not have to completely give up on her dreams."

Anzu came back then, looking a lot better now that she had washed and dressed. "OK, I'm ready," she said in a dull tone that made it clear that she was feeling as though she was heading to her doom. "We can go now."

"Don't worry so much," Seto said, standing and crossing over to where she stood. "I'm sure that Antoine will be quite reasonable." He turned to his brother. "Will you come with us, Mokuba?"

"No, I don't think so," Mokuba said. "If it's OK with you, I'm going to go and see how Yugi is holding up and whether he's managed to talk any sense into Jonouchi."

"That will be fine," Seto said. "We will drop you off at the game shop on the way and you can stay as long as they are actually there. If not then you will come with us."

"OK Seto," Mokuba agreed. The three of them walked out to the waiting limousine and got inside. Seto gave Isono his instructions, then they shortly pulled up outside the game shop and Mokuba got out. They waited until he came back and let them know that Yugi and Jonouchi were there, then Seto pulled his phone out and dialled a number, setting something in motion that may actually help to bring Jonouchi on side. When Anzu and Mokuba both smiled, he knew beyond a doubt that he was doing the right thing.

Then Mokuba went back inside and the car moved off again, taking Seto and Anzu towards their next destination - Antoine Pierre's home.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - I seem to have lost my drive for editing the story a bit, but I am determined to see it through to the end.

Thanks for reading.


	18. Chapter 18

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu remained pensively silent as they travelled through Domino's streets, but even the relief of having Seto's support wasn't helping to distract her from her worries over Antoine's reaction. For all that Seto insisted that Antoine was a reasonable man, something she agreed with from what she had come to know of him over the last few weeks, she could not help but fear that he would be extremely upset with her and that the good fortune over him discovering her would now come to naught. She also wondered why it seemed that she was fearing his personal reaction more than his professional verdict. Why did it matter so much that she was afraid of losing his approval beyond that of a dance instructor?

After a couple more minutes of consideration, she mentally shrugged, put it down to stress over the current situation and let it pass. After all, she barely knew the man outside of the dance studio, so such feelings really were quite illogical.

Then, all too soon for Anzu's liking, they pulled up outside a grand house on the outskirts of Domino. Seto got out of the car and opened the door for her, assisting her to get out, but even once she was out of the car she did not take any notice of her grand surroundings, instead beginning to walk woodenly towards the front door. She barely even registered that Seto was at her side.

The door opened before they reached it and Antoine came out to meet them.

"Seto, Anzu, it's lovely to see you both," he greeted, then he took in Anzu's clearly depressed state. "Oh, come now," he said. "Whatever the matter is it can't be that bad, surely?" Anzu flinched. "OK, maybe it can, but come on in and sit down. The front steps are no place for any kind of discussion."

Seto and Anzu followed Antoine into the large house and into his living room. He bade them to sit and wait whilst he went to make a pot of tea. Anzu leaned against Seto, needing to feel his solid presence as a kind of anchor point at this chaotic time and she felt a little better as he put his arm around her. Everything still seemed to be somehow surreal, almost like she were on the outside of her life and looking in, as though nothing was under her control any longer.

Seto stayed quiet, thinking that if he were to say anything right now he would likely cause her to lose what little composure she had left, so he settled for simply holding her close. Although he was fairly certain that Antoine would be understanding, he needed to let Anzu feel that he would be there for her in the event that he was utterly wrong. No human could be one hundred percent predictable after all, as had been proven by the mutt and his exquisite drawings. He honestly thought that he'd got Jonouchi down pat and that he had no hidden sides, that what you saw was what you got. To find that he had been wrong had come as quite a shock.

After several long, almost interminable minutes, Antoine finally returned, pushing a hostess trolley containing a steaming teapot, cups, milk, sugar and a small plate of delicate biscuits. He carefully removed the items from the trolley, placing them carefully upon the table. Then he poured a cup for each of them, leaving Seto and Anzu to decide whether they wanted milk and sugar or not.

However, he was surprised when neither teen made a move to take their cups. He now had the impression that this this truly was something serious, especially with the way that Anzu was avoiding looking him in the eye and how she looked like she had lost everything.

"So..." he said after a few more moments with no conversation whatsoever. "Could either of you tell me just what the trouble is?" He said this as gently as he could as he could tell that neither of them would open up to him if he simply demanded to know what was wrong. He leaned back with his cup of tea, letting them know that he was relaxed and ready to accept anything that they threw at him.

Seto sighed. He knew that he would have to take the reins here as Anzu clearly could not bring herself to speak. Hell, she hadn't really wanted to come at all and he could understand her reluctance somewhat, especially as it appeared that she was still blaming herself. But it was not her fault and to be fair, with neglectful pharmaceutical companies notwithstanding, if it was her fault then it automatically became half his fault too. After all, as they say, it takes two to tango.

"It is... quite a delicate subject," Seto said carefully. "Something has happened that will definitely affect Anzu's future in dance. Seto started as Anzu's head bowed even lower and two wet blotches appeared on her skirt.

"Oh come now," Antoine said as he sat forwards and put his tea down. He picked up a box of tissues from the side of his chair and passed them over to Seto who gravely pulled a couple from the box and gave them to the quietly sobbing girl. "Surely it can't be that bad?"

"I'm afraid it can," Seto said grimly with a shake of his head as Anzu wiped at her eyes. "Anzu is pregnant with my child."

"What?" Antoine looked at Seto with shock. "But... how?" He shook his head as he realised how what he had just said could be taken. "I mean, of course I know _how_, but _why _did it happen? Surely you weren't so irresponsible as to neglect to use some form of contraception?" Antoine's voice let Seto know that he was discounting that as an option even as he said it.

"Yes, Anzu was using contraception," Seto confirmed, "In particular she was using birth control pills. I'm sure that if you've seen the news lately, you can understand what has happened from there."

"Oh, of course, that awful scandal involving that drug company," Antoine said with some sympathy. "I know that they are trying to play it down, but it doesn't wash with me. It has to have affected a great deal many more people than they are letting on and it really is quite a sad state of affairs." He turned his attention back to the pale and silently shaking girl sat next to Seto. "Now Anzu, I don't blame you at all, but I do have to ask, are you sure that you are pregnant?"

Anzu only nodded, so Seto felt that he had to fill in. "She is," he confirmed. "She took a pregnancy test which showed a strong positive."

"Was it one off the shelf?" Antoine asked with concern. "Are they accurate?"

"I did some research on that after I first found out," Seto said grimly. "Those tests are 99.9 percent accurate and, given that it was such a strong reading, I doubt very much that it was a mistake. The only other thing that could give her a false positive like that would be certain forms of cancer and given the circumstances that is even less likely. So yes, she is pregnant."

"I see," Antoine said. "I take it that you are going to keep the child?"

Seto's face hardened and Anzu nodded a shaky yes.

"I do not judge," Antoine said, "and I am certainly not about to suggest a termination as it is surely not my place to do so. But what does your mother think about this?"

"S... she doesn't know yet," Anzu whispered, the first words she had uttered in quite a while. "She definitely won't approve, but I will keep my baby," she raised her head then, defiant despite the tears running down her face, "even if I end up having to give up on my dreams."

"Now don't be so hasty," Antoine said. "I'm sure that we can work something out. It would not be fair to deprive the world of a talent such as yours, especially because of something that is no fault of your own." He mused for a moment, "But putting that to one side for now, what do you intend to do about this, Seto?" He eyed the CEO with an expectant air.

"Well, the fact that I am here should be enough to tell you that I'm not about to abandon her to her fate," Seto said. "The child is mine and I have to take responsibility, although that is not a great hardship because I do... care deeply for Anzu." He gave a small smile as Anzu started, then blushed. "Obviously I have instructed my lawyers to look into the situation with eyes to taking legal action on Anzu's behalf and also once Anzu has gained the necessary permission from her mother, I fully intend to marry her."

"Now that _is _a big step," Antoine said, giving them both a concerned look. "You are both so young to be tied together like this. Are you sure?"

Seto gave Antoine an irritated look. He knew that the dance instructor was only asking the questions that any concerned party should, but the implication that he wasn't sure of his own mind was irritating beyond belief. However, for Anzu he would endure, so he took a calming breath before he spoke again.

"I am quite sure about this," he said. "I have thought about it and, considering all the options, it really does seem to be the most prudent course of action to take."

Antoine winced as Seto began to lapse into 'business speak'. That was a sure sign that he was feeling put upon and annoyed. However, he was concerned that Anzu had not given her opinion yet. "Anzu," he ventured carefully, "how do _you _feel about this?" He watched carefully for any negative reaction.

"Seto isn't a bad person once you get to know him," Anzu said, "and he's looked after me a lot these past few weeks. Marrying him certainly beats the alternative too." She smiled, "I'm just happy that he hasn't cut me loose."

Seto started at that and pulled Anzu closer to him again, perhaps feeling slightly guilty because he had almost done just that.

"I would have helped you if Seto had refused to," Antoine said reassuringly. "It is not something that you could have foreseen after all."

"Thank you," Anzu said with relief pouring from her.

"Now, as to your dance studies..." Antoine began, only to be cut off by Seto.

"Well, she shall have to give those up until after the baby is born..." he stopped as both Anzu and Antoine were giving him identical horrified looks. "What?" he demanded.

"Don't be an utter neanderthal, Seto," Antoine said disparagingly. "There is absolutely no reason for Anzu to have to stop dancing. As long as she doesn't over exert herself, there will be no danger to either herself or the child and the exercise will only do them both the power of good."

Seto shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot agree..." he was cut off again as Anzu stood up, her mood swinging violently.

"Seto Kaiba, I cannot believe you!" she exclaimed, looking down at him in outrage. "The only reason I was so worried about my dancing was because I thought that Antoine would refuse to teach me any more because of what had happened." She began to shake with anger. "I will not be wrapped up in cotton wool. Yes, I will be careful, but if I'm going to be smothered..." she stopped and burst into tears.

Seto stood and faced her, reaching out with one hand and hesitating before pulling his hand away. "I only want what is best for you," he said uncertainly. "I'm just worried that you'll... hurt yourself."

"Seto," Antoine said, also standing, "any doctor will tell you the same thing, that exercise is good for both mother and child. Not only that, but even taking all of her considerable talent into account, if Anzu were to get so woefully out of practice, that would set her so far back that it would end her dreams as surely as if you had left her to cope alone or if I had refused to continue my lessons."

"Fine," Seto said, capitulating for now. "I'm sorry Anzu, but you do know that I shall be asking the doctor about this when we see him, don't you?"

"Yes, I know that," She replied, "and I wouldn't expect anything less, but I know exactly what he will tell you." She looked up at him defiantly, clearly not wanting to give an inch.

"Now now, don't argue," Antoine said, worried that things may quickly go south if he didn't intervene. "Sit down and enjoy your tea, then when we have all calmed down and relaxed a bit, we shall discuss what we shall do once you have had the pregnancy absolutely confirmed by your doctor."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

A couple of hours later found Anzu and Seto arriving back at Anzu's home. Their discussion with Antoine had not gone badly. They had agreed that they should keep the pregnancy quiet for now and hold off on any speedy decisions. This was partially to make sure that the pregnancy would actually take, after all, as Anzu had previously said, many women miscarried within the first twelve weeks through no fault of their own which, if such a thing occurred, would render their problem moot, although it would be a traumatic event in itself.

Anzu had also decided to keep the news from her mother for now, but the moment she hit that 12 week mark, providing that neither of them had changed their minds in the meantime, she would make moves to get her mother's permission to marry before her 18th birthday. Then she would wed Seto in a private ceremony with just their closest friends, including Antoine, as witnesses.

They would have to talk to Mokuba – and also Yugi and Jonouchi – to make absolutely sure that they kept the news to themselves. Not that Anzu thought for a second that any of them would go out of their way to say anything, but there was no sense in taking the chance.

That they would also have to keep it from her other friends – that being specifically Honda and Otogi – did not sit all that well with her, but she understood the need to keep the information between as few people as possible, especially considering that Otogi was Seto's business rival. After all, he might see such news as a chance to create trouble for Seto, no matter what the rest of them wanted. Still, it would not be too difficult to keep it from them as the pair had been drifting away from the rest of the group since their adventures had ended.

Seto followed Anzu into the house, sending the car away until he was to call for it later. Anzu let out a sigh of relief as this was the first time that they had been completely alone and in private for the entire day. Seto walked up behind her and pulled her back against him, resting his chin gently on her shoulder and with his hands low down on her stomach.

"Are you feeling OK now?" he asked courteously.

Anzu turned in his arms and looked up into his eyes. "I am feeling a lot better now, thank you," she said, "but... everything seems so surreal, like it's not happening to me. I hardly know what to do next."

Seto could no longer resist, he simply had to kiss her. He did worry for a moment that she would feel that this was a wrong moment and push him away, but he let out a mental sigh of relief as she melted against him, clearly needing this just as much as he did. He enjoyed the embrace for a few moments longer, then reluctantly broke the kiss before things could even remotely begin to get out of hand. "Well, one thing you have to do is call Yugi and let him know of our decisions," Seto said as he held her close to him. Anzu leaned her head against his chest for a moment, then straightened up and stepped out of his embrace.

"You're right, I'll call Yugi now," she said. "The sooner I speak to him the better." She crossed to the phone and dialled the number for the Kame Game Shop, Seto standing close behind her."

"Hello?" Jonouchi's distinctive tones came down the line.

Anzu blanched. "Jonouchi?" she said with a gasp.

"Anzu?" Jonouchi said, a note of shame in his voice. "Are you OK?"

Kaiba answered as he had taken the phone from Anzu the moment she had mentioned Jonouchi's name. "She's fine, Mutt," he said shortly. "Let me speak to Mutou. Now." His tone left no room for argument.

"Sure thing," Jonouchi said in a calm tone that Seto wasn't expecting. "But first I want to thank you, Kaiba."

"You, thanking me?" Seto scoffed. "Whatever for? I thought you weren't able to accept... us, but now you are thanking me?"

"Yeah well, I had time to think," Jonouchi said. "I'd already pretty much come to the conclusion that if Anzu is happy then I can deal with that. But the visit from the art guy just sealed the deal for me. No one else could have been behind it and I know damned well that no one would have given me a second look otherwise, so thanks, man."

Kaiba sighed. He wasn't sure that he wanted the mutt's gratitude, but he knew that it was part and parcel of accepting Anzu into his life. "I said before that I can not let talent go to waste where I see it. I would have been an utter hypocrite if I had let yours go, no matter what I think of you as a person. Now, I want to speak to Mutou."

"Sure thing, Kaiba," Jonouchi said. "Hey Yugi, it's for you! Jou yelled. Shortly, Yugi did indeed come on the line.

"Hello?" he said. Kaiba rolled his eyes as he noted that Jonouchi had not told Yugi who was on the phone. It was a good thing that he wasn't an employee of Kaiba Corporation – yet – or he would have been fired without a doubt for such a faux pas.

"Mutou," Kaiba said shortly. "Anzu wishes to speak with you."

"Oh, OK." Yugi said, confused by Kaiba being on the phone.

"Hello Yugi," Anzu said as she greeted her old friend. "I'm sorry for earlier..."

Kaiba left the room then, wanting to give Anzu some privacy to speak with Yugi. It would do no good to smother her if this relationship was going to have a cat in hell's chance of actually working out long term. He could not just run roughshod over her entire life, something that went against the grain as he always felt that he had to be in control, but he knew that she would not stand for that. It was something that had become abundantly clear after the way she had blown up at him earlier on when he had tried to tell her that she had to give up dancing until the baby was born. This would be a massive mental shift for him, but for Anzu, he realised, he could do it.

A few minutes later, Anzu came into the kitchen and she sat down. Seto placed a cup of tea in front of her, which she took gratefully. "What did he say?" he asked.

"Yugi understands our concerns," she said. "He and Jonouchi have not told anyone, not even Grandpa." She looked up at Seto. "They will both stand behind me every step of the way and that is more than I thought I could ever hope for."

"As much as it pains me to say so, your friends would not have deserted you," Seto said. "Your bonds are far too strong for that." He grimaced slightly, letting her know what his feelings were on the matter.

"They are your friends too," Anzu said softly, "if only you would let them be,"

"I... suppose that I can try to get on with them a little," he conceded reluctantly.

"Even Jonouchi?" Anzu asked with a grin.

"Yes, even Jonouchi," he said, although his expression clearly said 'don't push it'.

Anzu smiled into her tea. For all that this had been a terrible couple of days, if Seto was prepared to give that much ground for her, she could not help but feel optimistic that this actually may have a chance of working out.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N**- This chapter actually feels pretty weird, but you should have seen what it was like before I edited it!

Oh well, it's beginning the setup for things to come. :)

I would have had this out a couple of days ago, but once again RL issues intrude. Thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Wow, this story made the 100 review mark! Thank you for all your kind words. They really mean a lot. ^_^

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The next day, Anzu and Seto did not go to school. Instead Seto took Anzu to visit his personal physician as she had found that she could not get an appointment with her own for at least a week thanks to the current situation with the birth control scandal. The man, who went by the name of Dr. Kenn, listened with some sympathy to their tale, then to make one hundred percent sure that Anzu was actually pregnant, he had her take a test inside the surgery,

The room was tense as the trio waited for the results, then Dr. Kenn let out a sigh. "Well," he said, "I wish I could be saying this under better circumstances, but..." he gave them a serious look. "Congratulations. You are going to be parents."

Anzu slumped. Although she'd known that it was going to be a positive result, she had still held the vanishingly small hope that she had done the original test wrongly and that this one would have shown a negative result instead. She noted that Seto stiffened beside her, then he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Have you thought about what you want to do?" the doctor asked carefully, looking at the couple expectantly.

"We have talked about it quite a bit in the last day or so," Anzu said quietly," and we are going to keep it quiet for now, but once I reach the 12 week mark," she looked up at the doctor warily, "Seto asked me to marry him."

"Really?" Doctor Kenn was surprised. "Well, I shall congratulate you both for that too. And Seto, I'm proud of you. There are not many in your position who would take responsibility for this kind of thing."

"The child is most definitely mine," Seto said softly, "so I could do no less. But there is something that I need to ask you."

"Go right ahead," Dr. Kenn said with a smile. "That is what I am here for and I'm sure that I shall be able to answer any concerns that you might have."

"Anzu is a dancer," Seto said. "Obviously I'm concerned that if she continues her dance studies, then she would do the baby or herself some harm. "What do you think?"

"I take it that you disagree with him on this?" the doctor asked, directing the question towards Anzu.

"Yes," Anzu nodded.

"She says that she can continue on as long as she doesn't overdo it and her dance instructor said the same thing," Seto qualified.

"Well, I can tell you that Anzu does have the right of it," Doctor Kenn said. "Dancing – as long as she does not try to do too much – should be absolutely fine and such exercise can only be of benefit to both mother and baby." He leaned forward and gave Seto a serious look. "Of course, as you know, there is always the risk of miscarriage, especially within the first twelve weeks, but if Anzu were to miscarry then it would not be through something like dancing. I hope you can understand that, Seto." Dr. Kenn knew that Seto could get an idea into his head and it would take a fair bit to dislodge it. He wouldn't like for Anzu to get unjustly blamed for something as commonplace as a miscarriage.

"I can," Seto said reluctantly. "If you say so, then I shall believe it.

"Good," he said. "You can also continue having sex as long as you don't get too rough," he said to lighten the mood, smiling as Seto and Anzu both went quite red, then he carried on like nothing had happened. "Now, Anzu,"he turned to the girl sat next to Seto, "the question is, would you like to continue seeing me or would you rather see your own G.P.?"

"I..." she looked at Seto uncertainly. "What do you think?" she asked.

"It is up to you," Seto said, "but naturally I would prefer it if you were to see Doctor Kenn. He is my family doctor and seeing as you are going to be family, it would only make sense for you to continue to see him. I also suspect that the general health system is going to be a bit overwhelmed right now and you would only have to wait longer to see your own G.P."

"You do have a point," Anzu said. "In that case, I shall be happy to keep on seeing you, Doctor Kenn." She gave him a grateful smile.

"Good. I shall arrange for your records to be transferred to me," Doctor Kenn said with a smile of his own. "Now, I shall give you these booklets and I'll have you make an appointment here at around the twelve week mark."

"So long?" Seto asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, to be honest," Dr. Kenn said with a shrug, "barring any complications, there will be no need for me to see Anzu until then. It would be the same, or perhaps even longer, if she were to go to her normal GP."

"So what shall you need to see her at twelve weeks for?" Seto asked.

"Why, then we shall be able to arrange for her to have her first scan to get a look at the baby's development," Doctor Kenn said with a smile. "That is something to look forward to."

"I guess," Anzu said, looking over the booklets she had been given. There was a lot of information to take in, from the development of the baby and what to expect through the pregnancy, to preparing for the birth, something she was determined not to think about just yet.

Doctor Kenn wrote something down then handed two pieces of paper to Seto. "Here are the slips to excuse your absence from school and, all being well, I shall see you both in a few weeks."

"Thank you Doctor Kenn," Seto said, standing and drawing Anzu up with him.

"Not at all," the doctor replied. "but please call me at anytime if you have any questions or concerns."

"We will Doctor Kenn. Thank you," Anzu said.

Doctor Kenn watched as they left with some concern. This was not going to be easy on either of them, especially Seto who was quite difficult to deal with at the best of times. The doctor did note that Seto had shown a marked improvement of late, something he could only put down to his involvement with Anzu, but he could not help but be concerned that Seto may revert to his previous attitude when the going got tough. He hoped that it would not happen, but if it did, Anzu would well and truly have her work cut out for her, make no mistake.

He turned to get ready for his next patient. There was no sense worrying as it may not even happen.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto and Anzu sat in the back of the limousine, Anzu struggling to hold herself back from saying 'I told you so'. She knew that if she succumbed to that temptation, Seto was likely to take it quite badly and nothing good could come from it.

"Uh... Seto," Anzu said, sitting up and looking out of the window with concern, "where are we going?" She had been expecting to either be taken home or back to the Kaiba estate, but they were currently going in completely the wrong direction for either of those places.

"Seeing as we are not going back to school today." Seto said, "I thought we could spend the afternoon together."

"But... what if someone were to see us?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, it's somewhere private," Seto said reassuringly.

Soon they pulled up at the docks, at an exclusive looking jetty where several expensive yachts were moored. "You have a boat?" Anzu asked, eyes wide.

"Please," Seto said in mock offence, "I have a yacht, not a boat. It is the same vessel we used to travel to and from the site of the ceremonial duel."

"You own that... yacht?" she asked. "But I thought it was a hire vessel."

"Come now, Anzu, you should know by now that I don't do things by half," Seto said. "I actually bought the ship outright for us to travel on, then, after we became friends, I decided that I wanted to keep her and had her brought to Domino." He took Anzu's hand as they departed the car and he escorted her down the jetty and to the expensive ship. "And here she is," he said expansively.

"You called it Kisara?" Anzu said, the warm feeling from Seto wanting the vessel as his version of a keepsake fading as she looked up at him with uneasy surprise.

"I called her Kisara, yes," Seto said, daring Anzu to say a thing.

Anzu looked away uncomfortably. Would she always have to live in the shadow of the woman who had embodied the spirit of the Blue Eyes White Dragon? If Seto picked up on her discomfort, he did not say a thing so she decided to let it pass – for now anyway. After all, she was here and Kisara was not. She should not feel threatened by a long dead woman and she supposed that at least Seto was acknowledging the events of thousands of years past, even if only in a small way like this.

She quietly followed Seto as he led her onto the boat then to the ornate dining room, the table having been set out for an intimate meal for two.

"Seto, what is this all about?" she asked.

"As I already said, I thought it would be nice for us to relax this afternoon," he said. "I know that we are a little late for lunch, so I took the liberty of having dinner prepared for us."

"Thank you," Anzu said gratefully. "I was beginning to feel a little hungry."

Seto smiled as he escorted her to her chair, waited for her to sit and then sat down opposite her. Then they enjoyed a leisurely lunch of good food and even better, in their own opinion, company. Then afterwards, Seto escorted her up to the top deck where they could look out on Domino bay. They stood together, quietly enjoying the moment for a while, then Seto turned to face her, a serious expression on his face.

"Anzu," he said, "I know that these are not the most ideal circumstances and I wish that things could have been more... normal. But then I supposed I'm not exactly known for being normal, am I?"

Anzu watched Seto warily, wondering where he was going with this, then she gasped in surprise as he dropped down onto one knee.

"Anzu Mazaki," he said looking up at her from where he knelt, pulling a small box out from his pocket. "I would be honoured if you would consent to become my wife."

"Of course, I will," she said, tears of happiness standing at the corners of her eyes, "I already said yes before, but what if..." she tailed off.

"This represents a promise," Seto said, slipping the ring onto her finger, noting with pleasure that it did indeed fit perfectly. "A promise that if you make it through the first three months, I will marry you, but it is also a promise to try and make this relationship work even if it does not come to that." He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "You have changed something in me, Anzu, and I don't want to let that go."

Anzu looked at the ring. It wasn't anything overstated, a largish sapphire surrounded on either side with two smaller diamonds on a beautiful gold band, but that was fine. She wasn't into overstated bling anyway.

She threw her arms around Seto's neck, tears beginning to flow and unable to stop them. "Thank you Seto," she gasped. "This really means a lot to me." And it did. It meant a lot that he would go to such lengths to make her feel special even though they had already agreed what was to happen. "Where did you find time to get the ring?" she asked.

"That ring belonged to my mother," Seto said, getting back to his feet and looking down upon her. "My real mother, that is. It was the only thing I managed to keep from my original inheritance and... I want you to have it."

Anzu, knowing a little of Seto's past, was stunned that he would give such a sentimental piece to her, but she did have a question to ask. "How did you manage to keep it hidden?"

"With great difficulty," Seto said, frowning. "Aunt Nina," he spat that name, "she looked and she looked hard for it, but she never found it. It may not be much, but I'm glad that I was able to keep it from her."

Anzu, still genuinely touched that Seto could give her something so precious, looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you, Seto," she said. "I will do my best to keep it safe."

"I know you will," Seto said. In reality he wasn't too worried that anything would happen to it, and in the event that it did, he had taken the precaution of installing a tiny tracking chip underneath the sapphire where it would not be easily seen, to keep both the ring and Anzu safe. He leaned down to kiss her gently, deepening the embrace as Anzu responded. Even through all this trouble, it would all be worth it if he could keep on holding this girl in his arms.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her back inside the shop as they broke their embrace, soon ending up at his personal cabin. He escorted her inside and locked the door behind him, then he waited to see what Anzu would do. Yes, he wanted her – God , how he wanted her – but he knew that she may not feel like it with their current situation, so he waited for her to make the first move. However, Anzu confidently stepped towards him, pulling him down into a searing kiss. He was relieved that she seemed to want this just as much as he did.

Almost before he knew it, they were naked and lying down facing each other on his large bed. They kissed languidly for several long, sensual minutes, then Seto did something that Anzu clearly was not expecting as he rolled onto his back and deftly pulled her on top of him.

"Seto?" she looked down upon him from where she straddled him, wondering that he would be willing to give up control like that. "What..."

"Anzu," he breathed, "I want this," he said, "unless you would rather..." He sincerely hoped that she would go with this. The vision of her simply sitting astride him was very arousing and he could only wonder what it would be like when he was buried deep inside her, with her riding him for all she was worth. "Please?" he qualified, giving her a look that could have been called beseeching on anyone other than him.

As she leaned forwards to kiss him, showing her acceptance, he felt a sudden rush of affection that almost took his breath away. This woman who had breached his emotional walls was one of a kind and although he would not admit it out loud – at least not yet anyway – he couldn't help but feel that he was falling in love with her. He would not tell Anzu this, however. She had enough on her plate at the moment and he would not add to her burden by delivering an unwanted confession. That was if he could ever bring himself to make such a confession, even if the right moment were to present itself at some time in the future.

They moved together in perfect harmony, coming to their peak, then they held each other close as the sensations subsided, gasping and somewhat sweaty, but still enjoying the closeness nonetheless. Seto kissed Anzu softly, telling her without words of his deep feelings for her.

Then he looked up at the clock on the wall. "Come on," he said. "We've just got time to get showered and changed before you need to be at your dance class."

Anzu was surprised that Seto was actually saying that she should go. "Will you be going into Kaiba Corporation today?" She asked, disengaging herself from him with some reluctance.

"No, I can let it slide for today," he said. "Besides, I want to see exactly what it is that Antoine will have you doing."

Anzu nodded, now understanding Seto's motives, but she didn't say anything. She was sure that Seto would be reassured by the end of the lesson, but if he wasn't then she would just have to call Dr. Kenn in to observe the next lesson, something she was sure the physician wouldn't mind.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As it happened, there was no need to call in Seto's personal physician, Seto having been satisfied that Antoine was not going to push Anzu to do any more than she was capable of for the moment. Antoine, understanding Seto's concerns, had also promised to make sure to keep an eye on everything as the pregnancy progressed and to tell him of any concerns.

The twelve week mark soon came and went and as Anzu had not miscarried, it was time to put their plans into motion. After the scan that showed that everything was progressing normally, Seto came to Anzu's home so as to give her moral support as she called her mother.

"Mazaki," the call was answered in the woman's usual sharp way.

"Mother," Anzu said dully.

"Oh, it's you again," she said with a disappointed sounding air. "What do you want this time?"

"I'm pregnant, Mother," she said simply.

"What!" the woman all but shrieked, causing Anzu to have to move the handset away from her ear and Seto raised an eyebrow as he could not help but overhear the woman's exclamation. "Well, we can't have that kind of scandal. You will get rid of it."

"No," Anzu said simply. "I will not."

"In that case you can get out of my house," she snapped.

"The father has offered to marry me," Anzu said before the woman could hang up on her, "But I can't do that without your permission as I am not eighteen."

"And you want me to give you permission?" she said nastily. Anzu held her breath. This would be the moment that made or broke this plan. "Fine," she said after a moment. "I'll have the relevant documents couriered over so you can marry your little spike haired friend. At least then you won't be my responsibility any more."

"Thank you mother," Anzu said pleasantly.

"Oh no, don't thank me." Anzu swore that she could hear the woman sneer down the phone. "Enjoy your ruined life and make sure you get the hell out of my house. I'll be putting it on the market as soon as I can." She hung up, leaving Anzu holding onto a dead line.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would," Anzu said with a sigh. She turned to look at Seto. See, I told you that I would be able to get it sorted without you having to get involved." She then gave a wan smile that betrayed her true feelings.

"So she is going to send the relevant documents?" he asked.

"Yes, she is going to have them couriered over, but I got the impression that she might send them to the game shop."

"Why would she send them there?" Seto asked.

Anzu shook her head wryly. "She assumed that I'm marrying Yugi," she said.

"Just like everyone else then," Seto said ruefully, "but that does work in our favour. Now," he pulled her into his arms, "we can get married on the quiet then have a proper, public ceremony at a more appropriate time, is that still OK with you?"

"You know it," Anzu smiled as she sank into his embrace. After a moment, she pulled away. "Now, I just need you to help me pack my things..."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

And so it was that the next weekend found Seto and Anzu wed quietly in a private ceremony that was little more than an exercise in form filling and filing the relevant documentation with the proper authorities. The only other attendees were Yugi and Antoine as witnesses along with Jonouchi, Mokuba and Doctor Kenn as guests.

After the events of the week that Anzu had found herself pregnant, Kaiba and Jonouchi had come to an understanding. They would never be bosom buddies, but for as long as Kaiba and Anzu were together, they both knew that the other would have their back in a pinch.

Jonouchi had also found himself with a job at a subsidiary of Kaiba Corporation after school which would only help to enhance his portfolio. He was currently helping with the design of the covers for some of Kaiba Corporation's new games and packages and even though it had been Kaiba that had got him this chance, Jonouchi knew better than to let that rarest of opportunities pass by as he knew that the likelihood of anyone else discovering him, let alone giving him a chance, was slim to none.

Soon enough the deed was done and the assorted group were left watching as Anzu and Seto went off on their 'mini honeymoon'. Mini, because they had to be back in school first thing on Monday to attend their exams.

Jonouchi eyed Yugi with concern. His small friend was watching the car drive away with a wistful, almost melancholy look.

"You OK there Yug'," he asked worriedly.

"Oh, I'm fine Jonouchi," Yugi said, plastering a smile on his face. "I already said that if Anzu is happy then I can be happy for her. She has been so good for Kaiba that I cannot begrudge that he has her as a life partner."

Jonouchi grabbed his diminutive friend into a hug, knowing that he needed it right now. "Come on, Yug'" he said. "You don't need to lie to me. I know you're holding it all in and that's just not healthy."

Yugi looked at the two other men and Mokuba, who were all watching them with curiosity. Jonouchi caught his look and stopped, moving away from his friend. "Oh, I forgot you were there. Sorry," he said with a touch of shame. He knew that Yugi wouldn't want to say anything in front of these strangers and he had probably made his friend feel quite uncomfortable.

"No, no, it's quite alright," Antoine said, "but I can see that you need to get home. Would you like a lift?"

"Nah, I'm good. The walk will do me good," Jou said. "But if Yugi wants one..."

"No, I think I could do with a walk too," Yugi said. He turned to the others and bowed. "Thank you for the offer," he said. Then they walked away down the road, Jonouchi's arm slung over Yugi's shoulders.

"I think that young Yugi isn't the only one with an unrequited love," Doctor Kenn observed.

"Hah, it's that obvious, is it?" Mokuba piped up. "It's kinda sad really."

"Well, it's not our place to interfere," Antoine said. "Now, let's get home and settle you in for the evening young man." He turned to Doctor Kenn. "It has been a pleasure to meet you," he said, bowing to the man. "I think that young Anzu is in good hands."

"Likewise," Doctor Kenn said. "Goodnight Mr. Pierre. Goodnight, Mokuba."

"Goodnight," Mokuba said. Then they left. Anzu had become Mrs. Kaiba and Mokuba's older sister and the press were currently none the wiser, which was just as planned.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto and Anzu retired to the Kisara for the night, the yacht setting sail to absolutely ensure their privacy. Anzu looked over at the coastline and the lights of Domino City, hardly able to believe that she was now actually Mrs. Kaiba. She had expected some kind of problem to come up, even at the last moment. For her mother to turn up and withdraw her permission or some other hitch to stop her from getting married, but everything had gone smoothly and the Kaiba lawyers had made absolutely sure that everything was completely legitimate and above board so that no one could claim that the wedding was not valid at some later date, something that would be absolutely essential once the public ceremony took place after school was finished with and they had graduated.

She jumped slightly as Seto came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, palms splayed over the barely noticeable bulge where the baby was just beginning to make it's presence felt.

"Happy?" he asked simply,

"Given everything that's happened," she said, placing her hands over his, "yes, I am happy. I'm here with you and that's all that matters right now." She turned in his arms and leaned up to kiss him softly, Seto accepting the embrace. "So... shall we consummate this marriage?" she asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"But of course," Seto said. "I would be honoured and nothing would make me more happy than to make love to my wife."

Anzu's breath caught at those words and she blushed hotly as Seto led her through the ship and to their cabin. They undressed each other, kissing each other between the removal of their various items of clothing, words absolutely not necessary as they came together for the very first time as husband and wife. It wasn't everyday that you got married and, even in the event that they fell out and divorced then remarried, there would never be another occasion like this.

There were still to be trials ahead of them, but in this one moment, everything was almost perfect and no one would ever be able to take that away from them.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - yes, I dropped some hints of wishshipping in there. It felt right at the time.

There will also be a couple more obstacles before the end. There are 24 chapters total after all. :)

Thanks for reading.


	20. Chapter 20

******Disclaimer:** ****I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - I should note that for this story, I'm writing the school year the British way where the new year starts in September. This way, for the purposes of the plot, Anzu will be younger than Seto as her birthday is in August.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Monday morning rolled around and with that they had to go back to school. The sale of Anzu's house had quickly been finalised and Jonouchi had moved in, both in order to get him away from his father and for him to act as caretaker to the property. Anzu's mother hadn't known that Kaiba had purchased the house and he had got it at a knock down price as she had wanted to unload it very quickly, something that pleased Kaiba as he wanted to give her as little money as possible. Anzu also hadn't known that Kaiba had planned to buy her old home and it had been quite a surprise for her. She was also happy for Jonouchi to live there, especially as she knew of his home situation.

The furnishings had been all in as part of the purchase of the house as the awful woman had just wanted to get rid of everything as quickly as possible. Jonouchi decided to leave Anzu's room exactly as it was, not wanting to touch what had been his friend's room for years. However, with Anzu's permission, he had wasted no time in redecorating the master bedroom, making it much more his style. No one could blame him for that.

Seto simply saw all of this as a way for him to thumb his nose at the woman who had abandoned Anzu and left her to her fate. He had finally done that research on Anzu's mother after she had told her daughter to get out of her home and what he had found out had not surprised him, although it had still dismayed him.

It seemed that Anzu's mother was a bit of a legal eagle and she had a reputation for being able to win the majority her cases. That was how she was able to afford to live in a lavish house at the other end of the country and own a holiday home in Fiji, yet still support her 'inconvenience' back in Domino.

The fact that the woman was a lawyer was another reason that Seto felt that he had to have his own lawyers look over everything to do with his marriage to Anzu several times as he would not put it past the woman to try and claim that their marriage was not legal. To this end he had enlisted the help of the elder Mutou, asked him to delay the courier in the event that the documents were delivered to the game shop and not to take any letter until his lawyers could attend.

When this had happened as expected, the lawyers made sure that the courier confirmed who had sent the document and stated that the envelope had not been unsealed until then, also having him witness what was inside. He had also agreed to attend the public wedding when it had been arranged and had signed a confidentiality agreement, not that he would have done anything to upset the guy that could afford to throw around legal action like this! Besides, how else could a lowly courier get to attend what was sure to be the wedding of the year!

Everything was now in place and now they were secretly married, but if Anzu's mother, one Mizuki Mazaki, were to try to legally disrupt their plans, it could make life a little awkward for them. Yes, they could simply have waited to be 'properly' married when Anzu turned eighteen, thus making it more likely that they could avoid potential trouble, but Anzu was adamant that she didn't want to be walking down the aisle when she was as big as a house and, as far as she was concerned, delaying until after the birth was also out of the question.

Seto's lawyers up to the very highest level had made sure that the documentation was absolutely watertight and, of course, if the woman tried to claim that they had forged her signature and that their marriage was not legal, they would not only roll out the courier, but the voice recording of her telling Anzu that she would give her permission to marry and to get out of her house. Her image would be completely shot and her reputation would be in tatters.

As for how they should present themselves in public until then, they had decided to simply go to school together. If anyone asked why then they would say that it was just something that friends did, which would be backed up by the fact that they picked up Jonouchi and Yugi most mornings.

Seto had been worried about some of the girls at school taking out their frustrations on Anzu if they were to find out that he was no longer available, so by necessity as few people knew as possible and they both kept their wedding bands and Anzu her engagement ring on sturdy chains around their necks to keep them out of sight. In fact the only other people in their group that knew that Seto and Anzu were married were Yugi and Jonouchi, Honda and Otogi having been kept out of the loop. Anzu had worried that the pair would be rather upset when the time came that they could be informed, but even she'd had to agree that the more people that knew, the more difficult it would be to keep things under wraps.

That said, they'd had to go and see the principal to explain their new circumstances. The man had not been especially pleased to hear that two of his best students were married and with a child on the way, but there was nothing he could do about it as everything was done and dusted and perfectly legal. He also knew that this must be kept in confidence and not just because Kaiba had threatened him with a lawsuit were he to discover that any information had been leaked from this office.

Of course, they knew that Anzu would not be the only one to find herself in such a situation and they noted that the principal had a weary air about him as he dealt with the whole thing, speaking of the fact that he had heard the same story several times over the last few weeks. At least Kaiba and Anzu were married. They were both certain that many of the girls affected by the birth control scandal would find themselves coping alone.

It was also fortunate that Anzu's pregnancy was not showing much yet. Seto had raised his concerns about this to Dr. Kenn, but the doctor had reassured him, stating that every woman was different and due to Anzu's status as a dancer she would have strong abdominal muscles and as such it would likely take longer for her pregnancy to show.

And so things went relatively smoothly and according to plan for the first week or two. Anzu and Seto came to school together, then after school they would go their separate ways, Anzu either going to her dance classes or hanging out with the guys and Seto would go to Kaiba Corporation to keep up with all of his work.

Kaiba had also started hanging around with the group during lunch times, something that had Honda and Otogi looking at him warily. That wary look spread to Jonouchi as they were surprised to see 'the mutt' welcoming Kaiba with, what was for him, open arms.

The student body as a whole pretty much ignored these events, collectively rolling their eyes as they perceived that Kaiba the ice king had finally given in to the pestering of the friendship fusion. However, there was one girl, the self proclaimed head of Seto Kaiba's 'fan club', that disliked the way that _her_ Seto was integrating himself with the group of dweebs that he had purported he would never have anything to do with - _ever_– and she noted with distaste that he seemed to be especially close with Mazaki, the little cheerleader girl. Not many people seemed to have noticed that something appeared to be off, but she had caught Seto and the cheerleader looking at each other in such a way that spoke to her of them wanting to become more than 'just friends'. She was not going to have that at all! She would just have to take it upon herself to warn the girl off. Seto Kaiba needed a *real* woman and she was just the one who would fit the bill!

It actually took a few days for her to get near to the irritatingly perky girl as she never appeared to be on her own. She was always somewhere near Seto or one of her dweeby friends, in particular the miniature freak or the mutt, but eventually her chance did come. Anzu went to the toilet after lunch, just before the bell rang for class and she was ready for her. She called a couple of the premier members of the 'fan club' to her side and they followed Anzu into the ladies room. She had the two girls that came with her watch the door, then waited until Anzu opened the door to the stall, pushing her back inside.

"I want a word with you Mazaki," she snarled.

"Maya?" Anzu was shocked and a little scared. "What do you want?"

"I don't like how you've been getting so close to Seto," Maya said, getting right up in Anzu's face. "I want you to back off." The two girls guarding the door made noises clearly backing up their leader's assertion.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Anzu said, paling slightly. This could be bad. She was totally on her own and there was almost no chance of anyone passing by and coming to back her up. She also knew that Maya had a nasty temper and had likely already made up her mind as to what was going on before she had followed her in here.

"Spin me another one, Mazaki," Maya spat. "You come here every morning in Seto's car and he sits next to you every lunchtime."

"He's a friend," Anzu said calmly. "He also gives lifts to Yugi and Jonouchi and he also sits with them at lunch, not just me. Friends help each other out and it's only natural for us to sit together."

"Friends don't look at each other the way you two do," Maya growled into Anzu's face, making the girl flinch back. Maya took advantage of that flinch to first drive her fist into Anzu's ribs, then she followed that up with a stunning blow to the side of the head. Stars burst behind Anzu's eyes, but instead of fighting back like she would usually have done, she curled around herself, protecting her stomach from Maya's blows. She knew that Maya wouldn't likely stop until she was certain that Anzu would submit and that made her genuinely scared for the baby. Unfortunately, before she could capitulate to get the girl to leave her alone, she overbalanced and caught her head a glancing blow on the hard toilet seat on the way down.

Maya unleashed a flurry of blows, demanding all the while that Anzu stay away from _her_ Seto but Anzu was beyond answering as she had succumbed to the oblivion of unconsciousness.

As she didn't get any answer from Anzu, Maya stopped her attack, becoming worried at the lack of response. She leaned forward to make sure that Anzu was still breathing, fearing for a moment that she might have killed the girl, letting out a small sigh of relief as Anzu's chest rose and fell. She hadn't meant to go so far, but she supposed that Anzu might just get the message now and leave _her _Seto alone.

Then she saw it, a glint of gold around Anzu's neck. Maya pulled at the piece of jewellery, blinking at the pretty little ring along with a plain gold band that hung on the golden chain.

She decided in that moment that she would take it, so she removed the necklace and rings, tucked the whole thing into her pocket then left the cubicle, not bothering to pull the door closed behind her as she left. She nodded to the two girls who were watching the main door, not taking any notice of their uncomfortable expressions, and the three of them hurriedly made their way to class. It would not do to be caught here right now.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Fifteen minutes later and Seto was getting extremely antsy. Anzu had not come to class and he was becoming rather concerned. According to Yugi she had been caught short, understandable due to her condition, and she gone to the loo just before class started, but there was no way that it should have taken her this long. Yugi and Jonouchi also appeared to be worried if the concerned looks that they were both sending to him and each other were any indication.

He was finally unable to wait any longer and was just about to get up and leave to find out for himself what was taking her so long when there was a knock on the classroom door. The principal walked into the room leaving two police officers standing by the door.

"Mr. Kaiba," the principal said, "I need you to come with me please." Kaiba stood, wooden faced. This didn't bode well. Ah well, he always had his lawyers on standby in case of any legal trouble so whatever it was shouldn't be an issue. He followed the principal from the room and waited until the door was closed before turning to the slightly pale and sweating man.

"Well, what is it?" he asked abruptly.

"Mr Kaiba," the man began, wringing his hands. "Your.. ahh... Anzu was discovered in the toilets on the second floor by a first year student shortly after classes started. I'm afraid to say that she has been beaten unconscious and left in a cubicle.

Seto paled. Anzu... and what of the baby? "I do hope that an ambulance is on the way," he said, eyeing the policemen.

"The ambulance has been called," one of the policemen said. "We are only here because we happened to be in the immediate vicinity when the call came in."

Seto nodded. "Take me to her," he demanded, leaving no doubt that if anyone tried to cross him then they would be very sorry. He followed the principal, pulling out his cellphone once they were on the move. "Isono, I need you here now," he said into the handset, hanging up as soon as he got an affirmative response.

They soon arrived at the girls lavatories on the second floor and Seto pushed through the adults who were gathered around to look into the room to see what was happening. The school nurse was there, attending to Anzu as best she could until the ambulance containing the paramedics arrived and they could take over.

"How is she?" Seto asked in a demanding tone.

The nurse looked over her shoulder at the CEO and was not cowed in the slightest. "What is _he_ doing in here?" she demanded.

"It's OK," the principal wavered. "She's..." he tailed off.

Seto rolled his eyes. The cat would be out of the bag soon enough, but there was no need for his relationship with Anzu and their circumstances to become public knowledge just yet so he would neither confirm or deny anything. "It is none of your damned business," he snapped, giving the woman a cold glare. "All you need to know is that I have every right to be here, so," he narrowed his eyes, "tell me how she is right now. And someone find out where that damned ambulance is."

"She's been knocked around and she appears to have suffered a blow to the head," the nurse said, not happy at giving information out like that, but if the principal said it was OK, who was she to argue? "She is breathing normally and does not appear to have any broken bones, but there is no way to know any more until she's been checked up in hospital."

Seto had to accept that for now and he stepped back out of the way as the paramedics finally arrived. Anzu was shortly checked out as being safe to move and was carefully placed on a stretcher, ready to be transported to the hospital. But Seto's eyes were suddenly drawn to the open collar of her shirt. Her necklace, holding both her engagement ring and wedding ring, was gone. Kaiba was instantly annoyed and on alert.

"Has anyone removed a necklace from her?" he demanded, looking at the people in the room.

"No," the nurse said. "I loosened her shirt and she definitely was not wearing a necklace."

Kaiba pulled out his phone as he followed the gurney from the toilet block. "Isono?" he said, wondering just what was taking the man so long.

"I'm right outside the front entrance, sir," the man replied

"Good. Stand by," Kaiba instructed. He stopped for a moment, opened his ever-present briefcase and pulled out a small device, closing it securely then catching up with the gurney before it could leave the building.

"Mr. Kaiba," one of the policemen said. "Do you think it is possible that whoever attacked the girl could also have taken the jewellery from her?"

Seto bristled at Anzu being called 'the girl', but he rationalised that they had no reason to call her anything else. "Yes, I think that is likely," Seto said. "That is why I am going to give my personal guard this device." He showed the small piece of electronic equipment that had a small screen to the policeman. "The necklace held two rings," he explained, "one of which had a small tracking device hidden under one of the stones." They exited the front entrance of the school, Isono falling into step just behind his employer as they passed him. "Isono knows how to use this and if our hypothesis is correct, it should lead you straight to the perpetrator."

"I understand, sir," Isono said, taking the device from Seto. He turned to the policemen. "If you two men would care to follow me..." They turned to head back into the school, the principal also tagging along to make sure that nothing untoward might happen and so that he could stay in the loop. Enough had already gone wrong today as far as he was concerned and he wanted to make sure to see this through right to the end to make sure that things couldn't go any further south.

Kaiba watched them for a moment, then turned back to follow Anzu into the ambulance. He trusted that Isono knew exactly what to do and that he would make sure that whoever was behind this would not get away with it. That left him free to concentrate on one of the most important people in his life – his wife.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As Kaiba left the classroom, the occupants left behind erupted into whispers. Speculation was rife over whether Kaiba had been caught in some shady underhanded business deals or maybe something had happened to his brother.

Jonouchi and Yugi looked at each other with concern evident on their faces. It had not escaped their notice that Anzu had not returned and that the principal, along with two policemen, had taken Seto from the class only added up to a huge problem in their minds.

Honda noted those looks, along with Otogi. Honda had thought that something odd had been going on with Jou, Yugi, Kaiba and Anzu for a while, but Otogi had talked him out of it, something that wasn't too difficult as he had truly believed that his friends would tell him in the event that something was going on. But now? It was totally obvious that he had been kept out of the loop for some reason, but he resolved that he would get the truth out of them one way or another. However, that would have to wait as the teacher was finally getting the class back under control so as she could continue on with the lesson.

That control lasted for a grand total of five minutes, until the first student noticed the ambulance pulling into the school yard. When the stretcher was wheeled back out several minutes later, containing one Anzu 'Mazaki' accompanied by not just the paramedics but Seto Kaiba, the whole class pretty much erupted. Why was Kaiba leaving the school with Anzu? What did he have to do with her and why was she leaving in an ambulance?

Looking at the pale expressions of both Jonouchi and Yugi, Honda was now absolutely certain that something was going on and once class was finally over then he would make sure to find out the truth whether they wanted to tell him or not!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N** - I'm not sure about this chapter, especially as the first part of it feels kind of information-dumpy, but it's setting things up for things to come so it needs to be out of the way.

Thank you for all of your encouraging reviews and thank you for reading. :)


	21. Chapter 21

******Disclaimer:** ****I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Thank you for all of your kind reviews.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Maya scowled as she, along with the rest of the students in her class, pressed up against the window to watch as that thrice damned Anzu Mazaki was wheeled out towards the ambulance with Seto Kaiba at her side. What had that cow done to make _her_ Seto follow her like that?

"Come on now, the excitement is over," the teacher called out as the ambulance pulled away. "Get back to your desks and settle down now or you will all attend detention this afternoon."

The pupils all complied, but there was still an underlying buzz to the class that the teacher could not stop, so he didn't even try and just continued going through the motions of continuing to teach as best as he could.

However, Maya still sat and fumed. Anzu had obviously brainwashed _her _Seto and she would have to make sure that she realised the error of her ways once she finally came back to school – and heaven help her if they were ever to meet in the street!

The two girls that had guarded the door, who sat one row behind Maya, looked at each other uncomfortably. The fact that Maya had gone so far was clearly not sitting well with them and they both wondered how much further she could potentially go. Could she actually kill someone next time? They passed surreptitious notes asking each other what they should do, but everything stopped as the door opened and the principal walked in, followed by two policemen and a strange man in a suit.

Maya looked at them with some concern, although she tried to hide it. She wondered if the men could be there for her, but there had been no witnesses to what had happened except for Suzu and Kasumi, the girls who had guarded the door, but they were both right here in class with her. Neither of them had left the room since they had all arrived here and Anzu had clearly been unconscious as she was wheeled out to the ambulance so none of them could have pointed the finger. But even with that assurance running through her mind she still began to sweat lightly, something that only got worse as the suited man, after having a quiet word with the teacher, held up a small electronic device and walked straight towards her.

"Here, sir," the man said, turning to the principal and the two policemen.

"Maya Sarutobi," The principal said. "You will accompany me to my office."

"Wh.. what am I supposed to have done?" she stammered.

"We will discuss that in my office," the man said, his tone making it clear that he would brook no argument. The two policemen positioned themselves on either side of Maya's desk so she had no choice but to follow them from the room.

"Thank you, Mr Haruna," The principal said as he let the group walk past him. "I'll let you get back to your lesson now."

Of course, once the principal had left the room and the door was closed, the class once again erupted into chaos and this time poor, harried Mr. Haruna didn't even try to get the students back under control. He knew that even if he did regain some semblance of order that their concentration would be completely shot for the rest of the day and it would be for the best to write the day off as a bad job and start afresh tomorrow.

In amongst the chaos, Maya's two friends, Suzu and Kasumi, looked at each other with both concern and resolve. As one, they stood and walked from the room, intent on heading straight for the principal's office. They knew that Maya would not hesitate to rat them out and try to implicate them as the ones who had done such a thing to Anzu. It wouldn't be the first time that she had tried to pass blame onto another person, after all. They hoped that by presenting themselves before they could be sent for would help to make things better for them and to make sure that Maya would not get away with what she had done and also to ensure that she could not do such a thing to anyone else in future. They had not agreed with Maya going so far anyway and in any case, they had already been in the process of deciding to come forward, even before the principal had come for her.

Warning others off Kaiba was one thing, but to beat another girl unconscious was something completely different, especially given that she seemed to be someone who was important to the icy CEO and surely what _he_ felt about the matter should be of paramount importance, despite what some of his fans may think!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Maya was escorted to the principal's office, keeping her face carefully neutral. How on earth had they found out, was the first thing that was going through her mind, the second being the mantra that they had no evidence, that they could not pin anything on her. She was sure that if she stuck to that, she would be away scot free. She would just have to ensure that Anzu didn't say anything and even if she did it would be the cheerleader's word against her own, thus making it a stalemate.

Now more assured of herself, she followed the principal into the room, the two policemen and the strange suited man also entering the room along with them. The police stood on either side of her and the suited man stood next to the principal who had sat down behind his desk.

"Now, Maya," the principal began. "Would you like to speculate as to why I have had you brought here?"

"I really couldn't say, sir," she said meekly, hoping that the semi scared routine would garner her some sympathy points.

"So you are saying that you can't tell me how Anzu... Mazaki," the man almost slipped but recovered just in time, "came to be beaten unconscious in the girls bathroom on the second floor?"

"She was?" Maya affected concerned surprise. "Is she alright?"

"We have reason to believe that she will be just fine," the principal said. "However, we still have to ascertain just what happened to the necklace that she was wearing. I have been reliably informed that there were two rings suspended upon it; one sapphire and diamond ring and one plain gold band."

Maya paled slightly as she remembered the items in her pocket, but held her nerve. "I haven't seen them," she said, deciding to brazen it out.

The principal nodded at the strange suited man who brought the small electronic device up again.

"Now the hypothesis is that whoever has the necklace and rings is most likely to be the one who attacked miss Mazaki." the principal informed her, "But what you may not know is that one of the rings has been fitted with a tiny tracking device which has led us straight to you." As the man finished speaking, Isono approached the girl, soon holding the machine close to her jacket pocket.

"The tracker is definite, sir," Isono intoned dully. "The tracking device is situated in her jacket pocket." He turned and nodded to the policemen. Isono did not want to put his hand anywhere near her and either be accused of touching her inappropriately or of planting the evidence. He moved to stand back beside the principal in order to let the policemen do their work.

"Empty your pockets please, miss," the first policeman said.

"Why should I?" Maya demanded to know, crossing her arms defiantly. Before anyone could answer a deferential knock came on the door and the principal's secretary came in.

The woman gave a sidelong look towards Maya before speaking. "I am really sorry to bother you, sir," she said, "but I have a small situation that requires your attention outside."

"Can it wait?" the principal replied irritably. "As you can see, I'm rather busy here."

"I'm afraid that it can't really," the secretary said, "and I believe that it may be," she gave another sidelong look to the defiantly standing girl, "relevant to the situation."

"Very well," the principal said as he stood. "Would one of you officers come out with me please? If this is relevant then I shall require a witness."

The second policeman nodded to the first and he left along with the principal and his secretary, leaving Isono and the first police officer to stand quietly with Maya. The silence stretched tensely for several long minutes, then eventually the principal and the policeman came back in, both with grim expressions upon their faces.

"Empty your pockets, Maya," the principal said without preamble, obviously having had enough of the situation. "If you do not then I shall have one of these good officers remove the items from your pocket."

"Fine," Maya said, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere and to deny them again would only be delaying the inevitable. She removed the necklace and rings from her pocket and threw them onto the desk. Isono ran the locator over them to prove that it was in fact the ring that was setting the tracker off.

"I can confirm that these are the items belonging to miss Anzu," Isono said.

"And we also have witnesses that implicate you in the assault of Anzu Mazaki. So what do you have to say for yourself?"

"First, she totally deserved it," Maya said. "Second... I want my parents here and I want a lawyer."

"You'll get both down at the station," the first policeman said. "Now you are under arrest for the assault and battery of one Anzu Mazaki. You do not have to say anything, but anything that you do say may be used in evidence against you."

Maya listened sullenly as she was read her rights, then she was taken from the office as she began to cry, knowing that she would not be able to get out of this one. Damn that Anzu – and damn Suzu and Kasumi too, as they had clearly sold her out to save their own sorry hides.

"Thank you for your assistance," Isono said to the principal. "But before I go, could you possibly tell me anything about the witnesses?"

"I can't give details, as I'm sure you can understand," the principal said with an apologetic air, "but I can tell you that two girls that usually associate with Maya came forwards on their own to implicate her in the assault. It would seem that whilst they could accept a little friendly intimidation, they were not prepared to condone beating some poor girl to within an inch of her life just for associating with Mr. Kaiba."

"Thank you," Isono said. "They will help to ensure that she does not get away with it and that will help Master Kaiba to feel a little better." He bowed to the principal and left the room, glad that he would have something at least a little positive to report to his boss.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As the bell rang to signify the end of the school day, Honda made a bee-line for Yugi and Jonouchi, collaring them before they could make their escape. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "I know that you two know something, so spit it out."

"We can't say anything," Yugi said. "We promised."

Jonouchi nodded backing Yugi up. "Sorry Hon'," he said apologetically.

"What? Even you, Jou?" Honda gasped as he followed them from the classroom, leaving Otogi to pack their bags and follow after. "I didn't think I'd ever see the day where you willingly kept secrets for _Kaiba_." Honda's voice dripped with contempt as he said Kaiba's name, but neither Jou nor Yugi responded to that, so Honda had no choice but to follow them, grumbling the whole way.

Otogi finally managed to catch up with them as they walked out of the school building. "Did you find anything out?" he asked Honda as he handed him his bag, looking at the other two with some suspicion.

"Nope," Honda growled, clearly frustrated. "Even Jou is keeping Kaiba's secrets."

"It's not just Kaiba," Jou pointed out, "Anzu is involved here and I'm not about to go against what she asked of me." This would have erupted into another argument, perhaps even something physical, but then Isono approached them.

"If you please, young sirs," Isono said in his usual flat tone, "Mr. Kaiba has given leave for you to be driven to the hospital." He looked at them expectantly.

"Honda and Otogi too?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," Isono said, inclining his head. "Now if you would come with me, the car is waiting."

The group of teens followed the suited man to where the limousine was parked and they piled into the back, but as soon as the door was closed, Honda once again rounded on Yugi and Jonouchi.

"So, can you tell us what the hell is going on now?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

"I'm really sorry, Honda," Yugi said, "but without express permission I can't say a thing and I'm afraid that just because Kaiba sent a car for us, that does not constitute permission." He shrugged. "It's not our place to tell."

"Fine," Honda sat back and crossed his arms with a frustrated growl.

"Honda," Otogi said, trying to be the voice of reason. "If they promised not to say anything then surely you can respect that? After all, they've kept enough secrets for you..."

"But it's _Kaiba_!" Honda exclaimed. "Why the fuck are they keeping secrets for _him_?"

"I fuckin' told you, Hon," Jonouchi growled, "it's for Anzu too, not just Kaiba. But even saying that, I can't really go against Kaiba now anyway."

"What the fuck?" Honda spat. "Have I fallen into some weird parallel universe or something? I never thought I'd ever see the day where 'The Mutt' would defend 'Moneybags'!"

"It's not like that," Jou said with a shake of his head. "He saw my drawings and actually arranged for someone to see them. I got a job lined up, somewhere to live away from my dad and now I'll be able to go to college. You know that would never have happened for me as my life was, no matter how good my art is."

Honda subsided then, still obviously displeased, but that Kaiba would do such a thing for someone that he claimed to despise had shaken his perceptions to the core.

Otogi looked back and forth between the two friends sat opposite and the person that he most connected with within their group. He wasn't about to say anything to either alienate Honda or upset Yugi and Jonouchi, but he couldn't help but worry that whatever was going on had the potential to split their group apart, more than it clearly already had been. He wouldn't like that at all.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Inside the hospital, Seto sat by Anzu's side as he waited for her to awaken. The doctors had given her as thorough an examination as they could and had pronounced that her life was not likely to be in danger. They were also fairly certain that if she had not miscarried by now then the baby would be fine too, although an ultrasound was in the process of being arranged to make absolutely sure that everything was OK.

When Seto had voiced his concerns over Anzu not having awoken yet, the doctor had told him not to worry, that she had been through a quite sustained attack and she would wake when she was ready. But only then would they be able to examine her properly, to make sure that there had been no other damage that would not be readily apparent until she was conscious.

Mokuba sat on the opposite side of the bed to his big brother, teary eyed as he thought about what Anzu had been through. Seto held Anzu's hand, looking at her, searching for any sign that she may be about to awaken. He struggled to hold back his anger as he took in the now livid bruises covering one side of her face, something that was mirrored on several other parts of her body, specifically her legs and arms as she had curled around her stomach to protect her unborn child.

Isono disturbed them then, knocking deferentially on the door to get their attention, but it was Mokuba who got up to speak to the man, knowing that Seto would not want to leave Anzu's side for anything. He was back a few moments later, wordlessly handing Seto the necklace and rings.

"Who had them," Seto asked with a growl.

"Apparently it was that Maya girl you told me about, the one that likes to harass those she thinks are getting too close to you," Mokuba said. "She had those in her pocket giving away her guilt, but the best part is that her two buddies came to dob her in independently after she was taken out of class."

"Good," Seto said with some small measure of satisfaction. "I will make sure that she pays for what she has done. No one hurts my family and gets away with it."

"Isono tells me that Yugi and Jonouchi are out in the waiting room, along with Honda and Otogi," Mokuba informed his brother. "Apparently Honda is rather upset because neither Yugi nor Jonouchi will tell him anything."

Seto thought for a moment. Yes there was risk in telling the primate and his flamboyant dice freak friend anything, but they were here now and the benefit of informing them would be two more sets of eyes to make sure that no more harm came to Anzu when she had to go back to school. He sighed at the inevitability of it. "Can you go and fill them in?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" Mokuba wondered, surprised at this turn.

"Yes, I'm sure," Seto said. "I don't want to cause a problem between Anzu and her friends and they can help to make sure that she is kept safe so it would be for the best to let them know what has been going on. Just make sure that they know to keep it quiet for now."

"OK Seto," Mokuba said. He had been a little unsure about this whole secret thing, but Seto knew best. He left the room to speak to the group. He hoped that they wouldn't be too upset.

As Mokuba left, Seto turned his attention back to Anzu, hoping that she would wake up soon. He would be right beside her when she did.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

"Hey guys," Mokuba said as he entered the waiting room where the group were anxiously sitting and waiting for news.

"Hey Mokuba," Yugi said. "How's Anzu?"

"She's still not awake yet," Mokuba said with a worried look, "but otherwise she seems to be fine bar all the bruising."

"Who did it?" Jou asked, looking murderous.

"That Maya girl apparently," Mokuba informed him. "But don't go running off half cocked. She's being dealt with by the authorities and you know that Seto won't let her get away with it."

"What's going on, Mokuba," Honda demanded. "No one will tell us a damned thing."

Mokuba sighed. "Seto says that it's fine to tell you, but please, you have to keep it to yourselves for now." He looked harshly at Honda and Otogi, every inch a Kaiba. "You have to agree before I tell you a thing. It's really important."

"I'll stay quiet," Otogi offered up straight away. "I don't want to get on your brother's bad side if I can help it."

Everyone then looked at Honda expectantly. "Fine," he said. "I promise not to say a word. Now spill."

Mokuba looked slightly annoyed at being ordered like that, but let it pass for now. "Well, as I'm sure you must have guessed by now, Anzu is with my brother," he began.

"What!" Honda exclaimed, whilst Otogi just looked thoughtful. "But..." He looked over at Yugi worriedly.

"Honda," Yugi said sharply. "I know what you are going to say, but please do not bring me into this. I know what everyone seems to think, but Anzu is perfectly entitled to be with whoever she wants. I'm happy enough to be her friend."

"OK, fine," Honda subsided. "I guess I can agree with that much at least."

"But why the need for secrecy?" Otogi asked.

"Well, first of all, Anzu was beaten today simply for getting closer to Seto than that person liked," Mokuba said. "Seto will always attract that kind of weirdo, but in the school environment it can be quite difficult to manage and can you imagine just how much worse it would get if it were to get out that they are actually married?"

"Married!" Both Otogi and Honda exclaimed in tandem. "I know it's one thing for them to be together, but married? How come?" Otogi asked.

"Anzu's pregnant because she was a victim of that birth control scandal," Mokuba said seriously, but then he grinned. "I'm gonna be an uncle!"

"No way!" Honda was stunned. "Just how long has this been going on for?" he wondered aloud.

"Uh.. a few months," Jonouchi said. "I gotta admit, I was kind of pissed when I first found out about it myself, but if Anzu is happy..."

"Hang on a minute," Otogi spoke up, a thoughtful look on his face. "If they've been together for months, who was that blonde woman he took to that business function? I tried to get her to come with me and leave him behind, but she refused. What was her name..."

"Kisa," Yugi supplied.

"Yeah, that's the one," Otogi said. "I recall that she was all over the papers because no one knew who the hell she was and she just disappeared like she never existed."

"That's because she didn't," Mokuba said, giggling slightly. "That was actually Anzu in disguise."

Otogi boggled as Mokuba began to laugh openly. "Oh man," Otogi shook his head, "I'm surprised she didn't kill me."

Honda let out an explosive breath and sat down hard on one of the uncomfortable chairs. "I don't know what to say," he moaned. "It feels as though I've stepped into an episode of the twilight zone and I'm dealing with pod people or something."

"Are you really OK with this, Yugi," Otogi said, ignoring the histrionics of his friend. "I do get that Anzu is free to choose to be with whoever she chooses, but I know you liked her so this has to be quite hard on you."

"I'm fine with it, actually," Yugi said with a shrug. "Anzu is a very dear friend to me and I can accept that and move on. She has been really good for Kaiba and as such it would be wrong of me to begrudge him his happiness as well as Anzu's."

"I'm sorry I had to keep it from you, bud," Jonouchi said sadly, looking at Honda. He knew that this would most likely damage their friendship, but it had been necessary.

Honda stood then, shocking everyone. "I want to see for myself," he declared.

"But Seto will get annoyed if you just go barging in," Mokuba said with a frown.

Honda shook his head. "I won't disturb them," he said. "I'll look through the window. I just want to see for myself, that's all."

"OK," Mokuba said reluctantly, not liking this but knowing it would upset Anzu more if she were to lose a friend over this. "I'll take you there."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Shortly after Mokuba left, Seto sighed and closed his eyes. He should have expected that something like this would happen, that some loser fangirl or other who thought she was entitled to be with him and would not stand any competition would decide to cause trouble. In a way he could understand how Anzu felt when people assumed that she should be with Yugi, although there had not been any violence over that.

Sometimes he had wondered over the wisdom of keeping things on the quiet, but within the school environment things were just not controllable to his liking, especially as he was not allowed to bring his security in and so keeping quiet was the only way to go. But as bad as things were right now, he knew that they could have been a whole lot worse.

And then there was the question of how they should go ahead from here. Should they come clean and make an announcement to let everyone know exactly where they stood, or should they deny everything and leave the school body to make up their own minds? Both approaches had their advantages and their pitfalls, but he wouldn't make a decision either way until he could discuss it with Anzu. Himself, he was tending towards the option of doing their best to keep things quiet, mainly because he had a plan that depended on certain people not finding out that they were already married until it was too late. But that all depended on what Anzu said when she woke up. He hoped that it would be soon.

Almost as if thinking that were some kind of cue Anzu groaned and her eyes scrunched up, showing the pain she was in.

"Anzu?" Seto was almost instantly on his feet and leaning over her.

"Seto?" she said weakly, pain strung through her voice. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" he asked with concern.

"No." She went to shake her head, only to stop and hiss with pain. "The last I remember is heading towards the toilets and then... I was here... and why does it hurt so much?"

Seto sighed and gave her an unreadable look. "You were beaten and left unconscious by someone who decided that you were getting too close to me for their liking," he said flatly.

Anzu gasped, her hand flying to her stomach. "What about..." she tailed off, a stricken look upon her face.

"Everything is fine," Seto said gently. "You curled in upon yourself to protect the baby."

"She let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes against the light. "What about the person that did it?" she asked. "Did they find them?"

"Yes," Seto said, "and I will make sure that they don't get away with it. Unfortunately for them their greed got the better of them and they took your necklace and rings," he dug into his pocket and pulled the items out. "We managed to find them because I installed a small tracking device under the sapphire in the engagement ring before I gave it to you." He smirked, "and her two friends came to turn themselves in because they felt that she went too far. Either that or they saw which way the wind was blowing and decided to save themselves instead."

"It was Maya, wasn't it?" Anzu asked. She stopped and winced with pain once again, then let out a pained groan.

"What is it?" Seto asked, concerned again.

"Do you think I'm allowed any painkillers?" she asked plaintively. "My head is killing me"

"I don't know about that, but I should call the doctor to you," Seto said as he leaned over and pressed the button. "I think they want to make sure that you are all there." He said that with a smile to take any sting out of his words. It looked as though Anzu was going to be alright and he was very relieved about that.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Outside the door, Honda took in the scene as he peered in through the glass and listened through the small gap as the door was ajar. He couldn't help but feel as though he were eavesdropping on something extremely personal, but at least now he could be satisfied that Kaiba really did feel something for Anzu and wasn't just using her for his own selfish ends. The look on Kaiba's face could not be faked, at least not as far as He was concerned.

He moved away from the door and back to where Mokuba was waiting for him as he noted that Kaiba had pressed the button to summon the hospital staff. He was sure that Kaiba would not appreciate finding out that he was being spied upon.

He would find it hard to forgive his friends for keeping this from him, even though he could understand the need for secrecy. But he could let it go for now– for Anzu's sake.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo**  
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**A/N** - On to the final stretch now. Just two chapters and the epilogue to go.

Thank you for reading.


	22. Chapter 22

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

In the end, once Anzu was more with it, she and Seto jointly came to the decision that they should continue on as they had been and to try to keep things quiet. Yes, Anzu knew that they would definitely be the subject of raucous gossip, but they could explain things away as part of the friendship thing that she was so fond of. Most people would accept that explanation, especially as she had a bit of a reputation for preaching on about friendship to anyone that would listen.

The reason given for Kaiba being the one the principal had come to after she was attacked was that her mother was away, he was the reason that she had been attacked in the first place and he was also the most influential out of their group of friends. Most of the student body let it pass, reasoning that getting on the wrong side of Kaiba was likely to be a bad thing, especially given what had happened with Maya.

Fortunately they were coming towards the end of their school time and as such would not have to put up with it for much longer. There were just a few more exams to go, which unfortunately meant that Anzu could not have as much time to recover as they would have liked and she had to wear plenty of concealer to hide her bruises. Taking exams was stressful enough even without all the speculation about their relationship, but they both knew that if they had announced that they were married everything then was likely to have become so much worse!

The next couple of weeks did pass with relatively little problem, helped by the fact that the press had not been able to report much about the incident thanks to Kaiba having instructed his lawyers to take out a special injunction which restricted the press from reporting _any _speculation over his love life, especially with respect to Anzu as she was still under eighteen. This also had the effect of stopping those few students - and teachers - that felt that they just couldn't let things lie and thought they could sell their stories to the press.

Of course, there was also some risk in taking that kind of legal action. With Anzu's mother being a fairly successful lawyer, albeit not locally and even given that she was not currently in the country, there was still the risk of such news travelling quietly through legal circles, either through gossip or as a working example of such an injunction as they were were a fairly new thing on the legal front. Seto hoped that wouldn't happen as that would not do Seto's plans regarding the woman any good at all.

As for the drug company that had caused the trouble in the first place, they lived down to Seto's expectations as they tried to cover the scandal up, not least by claiming that most of the 'accidents' were caused by user error and not by their faulty pills. But the public weren't fooled and their stocks had taken an instant nosedive. The company had called in the receivers then Kaiba Corporation had bought them out in a 'rescue package'.

As soon as the remaining directors got wind that Seto Kaiba had taken an interest in the company, they immediately came to the conclusion that it could only be due to the recent scandal as Kaiba Corporation was not the kind of company that had anything to do with pharmaceuticals. They had all immediately quit and a couple of them had gone so far as to try and disappear completely. However, that didn't stop Kaiba from finding a way to make their lives hell anyway. To that end, he simply pointed his lawyers and private investigators in the right direction and left them to it. He honestly didn't expect his team to get all that far, but if he could continue to make the idiots that had caused the problems to sleep uneasy in their beds, then for now he would have to settle for that. He could always up the ante later.

Seto had also quietly arranged for women that had found themselves in dire straits due to this 'mishap' to find compensation coming their way to ease their burden. This was something that he did not have to do, but Anzu had heartily approved as she could so easily have been there herself. Anzu's approval was something that made everything worth it in Seto's book.

Somehow they managed to keep their relationship quiet and the weekend after their final exam had been completed was when they planned to hold the wedding, something that would give Anzu some time to recover from the attack, the ceremony she deserved, would appease the public and also would bolster the popularity of Kaiba Corporation.

Seto had hired a large marquee to be erected in the expansive grounds of the Kaiba estate and speculation over what was happening was rife, although the press could not report on any speculation to do with a wedding as that was also covered by the injunction. This caused many a news editor to gnash their teeth in frustration.

The first the press was allowed to specifically report on events was on the night before the wedding was set to take place when reporting restrictions were suddenly lifted. Anzu hadn't been sure that they shouldn't wait and release the footage afterwards or make it a less public ceremony, but Seto had reassured her, telling her that this would help to negate too much bad feeling with the press which was something that could be a real problem if the press decided that they didn't like you. Press harassment was something that Seto had put up with over the years, but as much as some of it was unavoidable, he still did not want Anzu to be subjected to the spiteful side of the press if he could help it.

Of course, the upcoming wedding was then the number one story on all channels, even across the world. The CEO of Kaiba corporation and number two duelist in the world was to wed his girlfriend, who was a victim of the birth control scandal and was currently pregnant, on the grounds of the Kaiba Mansion at midday on the very next day.

It was sure to be the news event of the year!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Over at her large holiday home in Fiji, Mizuki Mazaki watched the news with horror. She had thought that her waster of a daughter was going to marry that little freak that played card games, not the ultra rich CEO of Kaiba Corporation. Why should her daughter, someone that she had never wanted, the loser that only wanted to dance, have everything handed to her on a plate when she'd had to struggle throughout, losing several years on her career as she'd had to juggle the needs of her child with her work, despite duping Taro Mazaki into marriage and having him become, to all intents and purposes, a house husband. Yes, she was sure that Anzu would have to lose some time before she could continue pursuit of her dreams, but she was also sure that Anzu would have a veritable battalion of nannies and helpers on hand, what with being married to one of the richest men in Japan.

But... not if she could help it, she thought spitefully. Yes, she had given her permission, but she could always withdraw it before this travesty of a wedding could take place. She looked at her watch – it would be a close run thing unless she got a move on. "Shana!" she called. "Book me a flight to Domino as soon as possible!"

"Mizuki?" Shana asked as she came into the room. "What's the matter?"

"I have to stop Anzu from getting married," she snarled, a spiteful look upon her face. "Now get to it."

Shana dashed off to do as she was told as Mizuki was clearly in an awful mood and she almost pitied the girl that had caused her boss such a headache. She didn't understand why Mizuki would suddenly change her mind like that as she had been almost gleeful that the girl would not be her responsibility any longer, but when Mizuki was in that kind of mood, Shana wouldn't argue.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The morning of the wedding dawned with relatively little fanfare although the press were well and truly camped outside the gates of the Kaiba estate. The weather was absolutely perfect and it promised to stay that way for the rest of the day.

Seto and Anzu had gone against tradition and had stayed together the previous night, not only because they were already married, but because Seto wanted to keep Anzu close in order to protect her from both intrusion of the press and from any 'undesirable elements' that may seek to stop this wedding from happening – like her own mother.

However, once they had breakfasted together with Mokuba, they had parted ways, Anzu heading off to the other side of the mansion to get ready, Shizuka and Mai amongst her necessarily small entourage, along with Yugi and Jonouchi. Yugi had volunteered to give her away and Jonouchi was there as security.

Seto also had to subject himself to the preparation that came along with getting married. Only for Anzu would he put up with this - and to potentially get one over on the girl's mother, something he had not mentioned to Anzu as she did not need that kind of stress. Antoine was also in attendance as Best Man, there being no-one else that Seto felt he could ask as, despite getting along with them for Anzu's sake, he would not have the dice freak or the primate anywhere near him.

Seto had wondered somewhat about Yugi saying he was prepared to give Anzu away, but Yugi had rationalised it to him as a way to finally let go, to gain some kind of closure so that he could finally move on. Seto had understood the logic of that, even if he didn't like the sentiment behind it, so he decided to let it pass. Besides, if Anzu was happy to have Yugi give her away, then who was he to deny her that? Especially as she did not have a parent to fill that role for her.

The morning passed more quickly than he had expected and almost before he could register it, he was standing at the altar and waiting for Anzu to arrive. To most people's surprise, they were having a western style ceremony. It wasn't what he would have chosen for himself, but it was what Anzu had wanted and this day was primarily for her, after all.

He looked out over the audience gathered to witness the ceremony, as well as noting the discreetly placed cameras that would beam this event out across the world. He mentally sneered at most of those gathered to witness this, in their minds, great occasion, knowing that many of them were only here so as to be seen in the 'right place' and to boost their own public profiles. He supposed that Otogi might be guilty of that to an extent, but he had a right to be here as Anzu's friend and he had a better seat than most, being sat in the front row along with Honda.

He dismissed that pair from his mind as he took in those gathered to watch, actually beginning to worry that Anzu's mother was not going to appear despite his sources telling him that the woman had boarded a flight to Domino late on the previous evening. But then one of his men appeared, following a woman who was wearing a gaudy over ostentatious hat. Seto smirked as she sat down, not causing any kind of problem yet as she clearly wanted to wait until she could cause the greatest upset and distress. As he had undertook his research on the woman, he had noted that she seemed to enjoy drama, so she was currently acting exactly as he would expect. He just hoped that Anzu would not be too upset when she inevitably got up to try and stop the wedding.

Of course he'd had his lawyers go over everything once again to make absolutely and utterly sure that everything was completely legal and above board, so great was his desire to make sure that the woman had no grounds to lodge any kind of objection whatsoever. The courier that had delivered the document with Mizuki Mazaki's signature on it was sitting at the far end of the front row along with his wife. The couple were looking rather shell shocked to have such a prominent view of the wedding, even given the circumstances behind their attendance.

Seto was certain that Mizuki Mazaki would enjoy trying to turn their wedding into some kind of public trial, so he had planned ahead to make sure that absolutely everything he could do had been done to make sure that she lost spectacularly.

Then the minister arrived at the altar and the music started. Anzu appeared at the entrance to the marquee and began to walk down the aisle on Yugi's arm, followed by her pageboy, Mokuba. Her bridesmaids, Shizuka and Mai followed behind them, then Jonouchi brought up the rear, following them quietly down the aisle, making sure that nothing untoward could come from behind them. A departure from protocol, yes, but unfortunately necessary and better Jonouchi rather than one of his faceless security. Kaiba knew that in the event of trouble, Jonouchi would hold his own until backup arrived.

Seto then turned his attention to his bride. Anzu looked absolutely stunning in her simple off white dress, her large bouquet helping to disguise her now visibly widening middle. He smiled as Yugi passed her hand over to him and, despite his misgivings, he could see that Yugi had truly moved on and he hoped that now his rival would notice that someone else was waiting patiently in the wings for him.

Seto removed Anzu's veil, giving her a reassuring look, then they turned to face the minister who began the service.

Everything went without a hitch, then the moment that Seto had been simultaneously anticipating and dreading was upon them and the minister began to intone those fateful words:

"If anyone present knows of any reason that these two people may not be joined in matrimony, then speak now or forever more hold your peace."

Seto tensed, thinking for a moment that she wouldn't do it, that she had only come to see her daughter wed and would not cause any trouble, but he found himself oddly relieved as there was a sudden call from the back.

"I object!" a female voice yelled. Seto, Anzu and the entire congregation turned to see the woman in the awfully gaudy hat walking cockily down the aisle towards the couple standing at the altar. She was being closely followed by a member of Kaiba's personal security detail as ordered, although he had also been ordered only to intervene if she tried to attack anyone physically, something that Seto was fairly sure she would not do as, from what he had learned of the woman, that was not her style. But it paid to be prepared, just in case.

"And you are?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow, although he already knew full well exactly who she was.

"Why, I'm Anzu's mother," she announced dramatically, "and I'm absolutely devastated that my lovely daughter would try to get married without my knowledge or approval."

Gasps and murmurs broke out amongst those gathered to watch, most of them wondering that the couple could do such a thing to the mother of the bride. That was until Jonouchi cut through them with an observation. "Well, if you were so concerned, why wait till now to show it, lady," he called out. "I saw you outside several minutes before the ceremony started so you could have raised your concerns in private rather than causing all this drama." Speculation began again over how Jonouchi could know that. "Hey, you could hardly miss that hat!" he said.

"Thank you Jonouchi," Seto said coolly. "I think I can take it from here." He looked at Mizuki. "Although he does make a pertinent point."

"That hardly matters next to the fact that my baby girl is getting married without my knowledge or permission," she flustered as she registered that she was losing the congregation's sympathy. "She has to be eighteen to marry without my say so after all."

"Really?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at his lawyers who were standing ready in the background. "But you already gave your permission for Anzu to marry." He snapped his fingers and the lawyer came forwards, showing the relevant document with her signature upon it.

"Well... that must be a forgery," Mizuki said as she gave it a fleeting glance. "I haven't signed anything like that." She was getting cross now as she realised that these... children... would not simply roll over for her.

Kaiba smirked. "Oh, really," he said, beckoning to the man sat at the very end of the front row. The motorcycle courier hesitantly stepped forwards. "Please," the lawyer addressed the man who was looking rather uncomfortable, "what can you tell us about this document?"

"I can tell you that she," the man said shakily, pointing at Mizuki Mazaki, "personally gave me that document in a sealed envelope and told me to deliver it to the Kame Game Shop in Domino." He gave the woman a nervous look, but continued anyway. "When I arrived there, the old man behind the counter refused to take the envelope and had me wait until some lawyers arrived to make sure that nothing had been tampered with and also to take video evidence of the envelope being opened." He shook his head. "I had wondered about that at the time, but now I can understand why it was necessary and I'm quite disgusted." He changed his uncomfortable look to a contemptuous one.

"Thank you," Kaiba said, inclining his head to the man who scurried to sit back down again. "So, we've ascertained that the document that was delivered did indeed come from your hand, so what do you have to say now?"

A positively nasty look came upon Mizuki's face. "Well, in that case, you are not married yet, so I can withdraw my permission as is my right as her parent. Simple." She stood there looking smug.

Anzu spoke for the first time then, stopping Seto before he could deal the finishing blow. "Why are you bothering with me now?" she demanded. "I haven't seen you since I turned fifteen. When I needed you, you brushed me off and left me to cope on my own. Now you want to stop me from getting married even though you already gave permission. So tell me why?"

"Because I thought you were marrying him," Mizuki replied, gesturing towards Yugi, who was watching the events unfold with a horrified expression. "I didn't think you would be marrying someone like _Seto Kaiba_."

"You didn't ask," Anzu replied simply. "The truth is that you didn't care to know and it's not my fault that you assumed. So tell me why you are so against me marrying Seto."

"Why should you get a free ride when I had to struggle?" Mizuki asked bitterly. "You don't deserve it." She crossed her arms petulantly and pouted, a ridiculous expression on a woman in her late thirties.

"Well, isn't that a shame," Kaiba drawled, giving her a contemptuous look that he usually reserved for the most imbecilic of Kaiba Corporation's employees, "because you are too late." He put his arm lovingly around Anzu, pulling the trembling girl close. "We actually got married in a private ceremony several weeks ago. This," he gestured expansively around the place with his free hand, "was so that Anzu would not be cheated out of the proper wedding that she deserved." Oohs and ahhs echoed around the marquee as several women swooned over the romance of the thing.

Mizuki stood there, mouth agape as she realised that she had completely underestimated Seto Kaiba and he had completely outflanked her. But then she was to get another shock.

"Mi... Mizuki?" Antoine Pierre stood shakily as he leaned heavily on his cane, finally finding his voice after all these shocks. He had never expected to see his old flame again and now that the issue with Seto and Anzu's wedding had been resolved, he felt it was time to speak up.

"Antoine?" she said, looking unpleasantly surprised. "Why in hell are YOU here?

"I'm Seto's best man," he said. "I am an old friend of the Kaiba family and more recently I have been dance instructor to young Anzu here..."

"Since when?" Mizuki demanded. "Why was I not told about that? The last I knew she was dancing for Madame Kazuki."

"I called to tell you about that," Anzu said, "but you shoved me off onto Shana who obviously didn't see fit to tell you."

"So, you're Anzu's mother?" Antoine said, obviously trying to work something out in his head. If his sums added up...

"Hah!" Mizuki laughed, and not pleasantly. She shook her head. "Don't bother trying to work it out. You know the truth without having to go through that, don't you?" She smirked evilly.

"What do you mean?" Anzu asked, confused.

"Where do you think your dancing talent came from?" Mizuki sneered at Anzu. "Not from that waster I married, that's for sure."

"But... why?" Antoine asked, utterly stunned by the revelations.

"You had your career, I had mine," Mizuki said with a shrug. "I couldn't afford to be tied down whilst Anzu grew up, so I fooled some schmuck into thinking he'd got me knocked up so he would marry me and he agreed to be a house husband whilst I pursued my career. That's all."

The congregation gasped at how callous this woman was and Anzu made to step forwards to slap this harridan who pretended to be a mother, but she was held back by Seto who knew that Mizuki would use any physical assault for capital were Anzu were to succeed in slapping her. "You.. are an awful woman," she hissed. "I despise you. How dare you come here and try to ruin my life. Go away back to your career if you can even show your face there again after what has happened here."'

"I..." She faltered slightly as she turned and scanned the crowd, then she seemed to become more assured again as she turned to face her daughter, "I'm not worried about that. It's not like I practice around these parts after all."

"In that case, it's a shame that you did not do your research before coming here," Seto said with a smirk. "This ceremony is being transmitted live and is sure to be the number one story on all the news channels so good luck with the loss in your reputation." He glared at her coldly then. "Now if you don't mind, we have a wedding to get back to." He and Anzu turned their backs on the woman, making it clear that her involvement here was well and truly over.

Mizuki scowled, but she had no choice but to leave as Kaiba's security came to escort her out. Once she had gone, Seto turned and addressed the guests.

"If you don't mind, we would like to take a short break before continuing," he said. He shot a look to Anzu's group of friends who had got up, clearly telling them not to follow, then he escorted the shell shocked Anzu through into a small curtained off area behind the altar, followed closely by Antoine. Seto did not object to that as the man was likely to be feeling shocked at the revelation that Anzu was likely to be his daughter and it was something that needed to be discussed. They could all hear the buzz of speculation behind them, but they paid it no mind.

As the little group left the main area, Yugi and Jonouchi looked at each other with concern. They would let Kaiba deal with this latest development as was his right as Anzu's husband, but that would not stop them from worrying about their friend.

She would have their help and support no matter what happened.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - Yes, this is the last bump in the road before the final chapter and the epilogue.

The injunction mentioned here was inspired by an injunction taken out by a certain footballer last year that was such that no one was supposed to report who it was about, much less what they had actually done. (Fat lot of good that did. LOL)

Also, I seem to have a thing for 'Surprise! Your parents aren't who you think they are!' plots. Ah well... It all adds to the drama.

Thank you for reading.


	23. Chapter 23

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Once the curtain was closed behind them and they were assured of at least some measure of privacy, Seto turned to Anzu with concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Anzu began to walk restlessly around the small area. "I can't believe that she would do something like this, but then again, maybe I can," she said. Then she turned on Seto. "You knew, didn't you?" she accused. "There is no way that you would have had the lawyers and even the courier in place otherwise."

"I suspected that she may attempt to disrupt proceedings," Seto said in a soothing tone. "I have to admit that I did a little research on your mother and I didn't like what I found out so I took the appropriate precautions, that's all."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"Because you were worrying enough about today as it was," Seto said. "I didn't want to add to your burden, that's all. I... apologise if that was wrong of me."

"No," Anzu sighed, "You were right. I'm just _so_ annoyed." Then her eyes lit on the nervous man standing near the entrance. "Antoine, did you really know my mother?" she asked quietly.

"I did," Antoine confirmed. "She was in college studying to be a lawyer and I was an aspiring dancer. We did see each other for a while, but she suddenly ended it and the next thing I knew she had married someone else." He sighed. "After that, I got my big break so I left it all behind me and got on with my life. If I'd known..." He tailed off, shaking his head, "I'm so sorry."

"No, don't apologise for her. It's not your fault." She looked at him closely, trying to find something there. "So... do you think that you could really be... my father?"

"Well," Antoine reddened slightly, "I was... intimate with your mother a few times and on the surface of it the dates do seem to add up, so..." he shrugged, "I don't really know what to say."

"If I may," Seto said, "from what I've seen of the woman so far, I wouldn't put it past her to insinuate something like that simply to mess with your minds."

"I do agree with you," Antoine said ruefully, "but I don't understand what happened. She never used to be like that when I knew her." He looked to Seto. "So, what do you suggest."

"With your permission, I will call in Dr. Kenn and have him arrange for a DNA test. That would tell you for sure."

"What do you think about that, Anzu?" Antoine asked.

"I think she would be hoping that we would continue questioning it and hope that the uncertainty would ruin our working relationship," Anzu mused. "I don't want to take the chance of that happening, so..." she tailed off as she continue to consider.

"Could you continue to go on if he turns out not to be your father?" Seto asked.

"I think I can," Anzu said. "I don't want to live with the uncertainty and what Antoine said only increases the chances of it being true. I would like to have a proper parent and grandparent for my child so I'm willing to take the chance."

"I would be that for you anyway, whether or not any test result shows that we are related," Antoine said fervently.

"Thank you, Antoine," Seto said. He walked to the door and asked one of the security men to fetch Doctor Kenn. The man appeared shortly, bursting into the room with a worried expression upon his face. "is everything alright?" he asked with concern, obviously worried for Anzu's health.

"Everything is fine," Seto said calmly. "You heard as well as anyone else out there what that woman implied about Anzu's paternity."

"Yes, that was quite a spiteful thing to do, especially as she did not specifically state that Mr. Pierre is Anzu's father," Doctor Kenn said. "Not to mention that it was an awful thing that she tried to do in the first place."

"To that end, we would like to request a DNA test," Anzu said quietly. "Now she's put the possibility out there, we need to know one way or the other or the uncertainty..." she spread her hands as she tailed off, knowing that the rest was obvious.

"Quite," Doctor Kenn said. "I will be happy to arrange for the test to be done, but I still cannot understand for the life of me why people have to be so spiteful to one another." He turned to leave. "Just let me pop out to the car and I shall be back with the relevant equipment."

"You carry sample taking equipment with you?" Seto wondered out loud.

"Why, yes," Doctor Kenn replied. "You'd be surprised how many times paternity tests are requested in the course of my work so I've found that it is far more convenient to have a ready supply on hand. Now, I'll be back in a minute."

True to his word, Doctor Kenn was back in what was in reality a very short time, but it still seemed to be a very long time to those waiting in the small room. In next to no time, the swabs were taken, packed, labelled and ready to go, Dr. Kenn promising to get the samples analysed as soon as possible.

Then it was time to resume the ceremony. Anzu hugged Antoine, who went back out to his position as Seto's best man, which also informed the rest of the witnesses that the ceremony was about to start once again. Then Anzu emerged from the back room, accompanied by Seto and they positioned themselves back in front of the minister who began the service again.

When he got back to that immortal line asking if there were any more objections, there was a collective intake of breath and Seto tensed, glaring around the room, letting everyone know that no more interruptions would be tolerated, something that was backed up by the security standing to attention, ready to remove any troublemakers. That moment seemed to drag on for an eternity, but then it finally passed and the minister continued with the service.

"Now you may kiss your bride," the minister said with a huge smile. Seto looked down at Anzu, tenderness and love in his expression as he leaned down to capture his wife's lips in a kiss. No one could deny that they could see the love that Seto Kaiba held for the woman that he had just married and hearts broke all over the world as girls – and boys – everywhere finally realised that this was no sham marriage for the sake of the baby. No, this was the real thing and Seto Kaiba was officially off the market.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

The reception afterwards went off without a hitch, what with it being a small private affair only for their closest friends. Anzu and Antoine were subject to a lot of questions, as was only to be expected after the revelations at the wedding, but before long everyone had settled down to the meal, followed by the toasts and the cutting of the cake. Anzu was happy with everything and that made Seto happy too. In fact Seto smiled a lot which, whilst being quite scary in and of itself, reassured Anzu's friends that everything really was good between them.

Soon enough it was time for Anzu and Seto to leave on their honeymoon. When Anzu threw the bouquet, Shizuka was the one who caught it which caused a small scuffle between Jonouchi, Honda and Otogi as the latter pair began to argue over which of them would be marrying her, something that Jonouchi took exception to. Both Shizuka and Mokuba rolled their eyes at this display of immaturity and went off to sit in the corner and talk on their own.

Once the silliness between Honda and Otogi was over and done with, Seto and Anzu finally left for their honeymoon and shortly thereafter the reception began to break up. But Mokuba had one more thing to do before he left to stay with Antoine.

"Yugi," he approached the king of games. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, Mokuba," Yugi said with a smile. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering how long you are going to keep Jonouchi hanging," he asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, shocked that he would be asked such a thing.

"Come on, Yugi," Mokuba said with a little exasperation. "You have to know by now how he feels about you. He loves you so much that he just wants you to be happy and it's why he was so protective of you when he first found out about Anzu seeing Seto." He shook his head. "But no matter how much of a brave face he puts on it, it has to be eating him up inside."

"It's not that easy," Yugi said, shaking his head as he knew that he couldn't deny it, at least not to Mokuba. "Yes, I do know how he feels and I do feel something for him too, but... I don't want him to think that I'm coming to him on the rebound."

"I'd hardly call it rebound," Mokuba scoffed. "You've known that Anzu has been out of reach for months. Surely it's past time for you to move on?"

"But..." Yugi looked uncertain.

"Yugi," Mokuba said, cutting him off before he could say anything else. "Stop making excuses and don't wait any longer. Come on, you deserve happiness too."

"You are right, of course," Yugi said, "and if it really is that obvious..."

"It is," Mokuba said. "Doctor Kenn noticed the first time he saw you and Jonouchi together on Anzu and Seto's first wedding day."

Yugi was surprised, but he quickly covered that up with a determined look. "Fine, it's decided then," he said. "I'll do something about it tonight."

"Do what, Yug'?" Jonouchi asked as he came up behind his friend.

"Oh, nothing much," Yugi demurred. "So... are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Jonouchi said. "I'm just gonna see my sister off, then I'll be right with you."

"Shizuka's going already?" Mokuba said, wide eyed. "I better go say goodbye." He took that moment to dash off, leaving Yugi and Jonouchi on their own.

"So what was that really about," Jonouchi asked, showing that he hadn't been fooled by Yugi's pathetic attempt at redirection.

"Err..." Yugi blushed, then looked coyly up at Jonouchi. "Lean down so that I can whisper it in your ear."

"It's that embarrassing?" Jou asked with a smirk.

"No... well, yes... but..." Yugi sighed and looked up at Jou. "Just lean down," he demanded.

"OK, OK, keep your hair on,"Jou said. He leaned down only to be taken by surprise as Yugi grabbed hold of his head and kissed him. "What?" Jou exclaimed as he jumped back. "Why did you do that?" he asked with a pained expression.

"Because I wanted to," Yugi said, blushing deeply.

"Yugi, it's not nice to tease like that," Jou said sadly, the closest he'd ever come to admitting out loud that he did indeed feel something for Yugi.

"Who's teasing?" Yugi said defiantly. "Get back down here, Jonouchi," he ordered, knowing that Jonouchi would obey without question. He once again grabbed hold of Jonouchi's hair and kissed him soundly, making it completely clear what he wanted. Jonouchi gasped when Yugi finally let him go and he stepped back on wobbly legs and with a shell shocked expression on his face. That changed to embarrassment and a deep blush that was reflected on Yugi's face as they were subject to applause, whistles and cat-calls.

"It's about damned time," Otogi quipped as both Yugi and Jonouchi both avoided looking at each other in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Jou," Yugi said with a contrite air. "I should have chosen a more private time to do that." He made to walk away, thinking that he had ruined everything, but he was surprised when Jou grabbed hold of him.

"Nah, it's OK, Yug'," Jou said with a smile. "I don't mind if you don't." he turned to the assembled group that were still watching them. "You've had your free show," he yelled at them. "Come on," he said as he grabbed Yugi and walked off in the direction of the exit and Shizuka who was standing next to Mokuba with a shocked yet pleased look upon her face. "Let's go and see my sister off, then we can go back to mine and talk about it, OK?

"Thanks Jonouchi," Yugi said with a smile. He thought he would be able to put up with any ribbing their other friends subjected them to, just as long as Jonouchi was with him.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

A couple of hours after leaving the reception, Anzu and Seto were just arriving at his private retreat that was close to a well known exclusive seaside resort, but just as they reached their room, Seto's phone beeped with a message.

"I thought you were going to turn that off"?" Anzu asked, mock outrage on her face.

"I will now," Seto said with a smirk, "but I think you might like to hear that Yugi grabbed hold of Jonouchi and kissed him in front of all the guests left at the reception." He chuckled as he sent a message back to Mokuba, letting him know that he'd got the message, then he resolutely switched the phone off.

"He did? Really?" Anzu asked with surprise. "I never thought that he'd ever do it."

"Well, it was fairly obvious to see how Jonouchi felt about him once I finally took notice," Seto said. "I guess he finally thought that the time was right once we were publicly married – and I suspect that Mokuba may have given him a little push."

"Well, however it came about, I'm happy for him," Anzu said. "He deserves to have some happiness too."

"Not as happy as I am that he's finally going to stop mooning over you," Seto said, moving over to where Anzu was standing and pulling her into an intimate embrace. "You are mine and you know that I don't like to share," he leaned in and kissed her, letting her know exactly how he was feeling.

"As long as you don't start dictating who I can and cannot be friends with," Anzu replied, breathless as she broke away from the kiss.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said. "Your association with your friends is what makes you who you are and... I don't want to change that."

"Who are you and what have you done with Seto Kaiba?" she asked with a laugh.

"I think the question should be, what have you done to me?" he said in reply, then he kissed her again, a sensuous embrace that made their passions begin to rise.

"Someone's eager," Anzu breathed as she could feel Seto's hardness against her already.

"And so I should be, here in this room alone with my beautiful wife." He gave her a strange look there. "I have to say..." he paused, "I do love you." He smirked as she gasped. "I just thought it was an appropriate time to get that out there, but don't expect me to say it very often."

"That's fine," Anzu said, tears threatening to escape, damn those hormones. "And... I love you too. I have for a while but I never thought that I would ever get the chance to say it. I promise not to say it too often if it's going to make you uncomfortable."

"You can say it as often as you like," Seto said, smiling gently down at her. "I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing it." He leaned in to kiss her again, gently and tenderly, wanting to reflect the moment and put all his feelings into that one embrace. After a few moments they broke apart and he led her towards the bed. He stopped at the edge and began fiddling with the fastenings to her dress. He would have simply ripped it from her, but he knew that she would not appreciate that. Women liked to keep their wedding dresses, something that he couldn't really appreciate the sentiment of, especially as she would never use it again. Actually, it wasn't likely that she would ever able to wear it again even if she wanted to because it had been tailored specifically to her growing bump, but he restrained himself as he carefully helped to remove it. He wondered that she had insisted on wearing it even to the reception and to travel on their honeymoon, but it was an exquisitely beautiful dress and she probably wanted to get the most out of wearing it if she would never be able to wear it again.

Once it was removed, he looked down at her in the small lacy undergarments she was wearing, something that made her look all the more alluring, especially with the gentle swelling of her belly. Seto had never thought that he would actually want to make love to a pregnant woman, but knowing that it was his wife that he was looking at and that she was carrying his child excited him in a way that he had not expected.

He caressed her face, smiling as she nuzzled into his hand, then he moved his hand down to her breast brushing at the lacy fabric, then finally he reached the bulge of her stomach. That would soon be getting a lot bigger, he mused, away in a world of his own, only coming back to himself as Anzu began tugging at his shirt, wanting him to remove it.

He removed his clothes then, ending up standing there in just his underwear, putting him on an equal footing with her. She lay down on the bed then and he moved over her and kissed her tenderly as he came to rest against her. He stifled a moan as the feeling of his covered arousal pressing against her was strangely erotic.

They kissed sensuously and tenderly for several long minutes, Seto grinding his hardness against her through their underwear until he abruptly pulled back, moving down and away from her to enable him to remove her lacy panties, then he removed his own underpants and moved back over her. He absently noted that she was still wearing her bra, but he couldn't take the time to remove it right now, so great was his need to bury himself inside her and from her reaction, she was feeling the same way.

Anzu gasped as he looked down at her with the tenderest expression that she had ever seen on him as he entered her and she could not help but let out a groan of appreciation as he filled her once again. It didn't matter how many times they had come together, it had always been more than good and she thought that she would never tire of it. She knew that things would change after she had the baby and she regretted that they couldn't have more time together as even a semi normal couple, but for now she would enjoy this time together as much as she could.

They continued moving then, until the end inevitably came and they lay together in the afterglow. But it wasn't until several minutes later that Anzu felt it was appropriate to speak.

"Do you think that my mother will cause us any more trouble?" she asked.

"She can try," Seto said grimly as he held her close, but she will not succeed. I can't let such a poisonous individual anywhere near either you or my son or daughter."

"Fair enough," Anzu said. "So... what do you think we will have? Would you prefer a boy or a girl?"

"As long as they are healthy, I don't mind either way," Seto said, nuzzling into her hair. "Have you thought of any names yet?" he asked.

"Not really," Anzu replied. "We have a few more months yet, which is just as well really as thinking of names is harder than I thought it would be. But," she gave Seto a stern look, "if we have a girl I will _not _have her called Kisara!"

"Fair enough," Seto chuckled. "I would not have suggested it anyway." He couldn't help but recall how she had looked when he had told her that he had called his yacht the Kisara and he wouldn't like to think about how she would react if he even tried to suggest that she should name a child Kisara. Obviously, she couldn't help but feel threatened by the woman, never mind that she was thousands of years dead. She was something from a previous life and she had no place in the here and now.

"I can have the yacht renamed if it makes you that uncomfortable," he offered.

"No, that's fine," Anzu said. "I know Kisara was important to... your past self and I can accept that much."

"Good," Seto said, getting up from the bed. "Shower?" he asked, holding out his hand towards her.

"I thought you would never ask!" she exclaimed, taking his hand as she got up and followed him into the bathroom. She really could not be happier right now. She was married, had great friends, a wonderful husband who she loved and who loved her. Along with that she had potentially found her real father and she was having a baby. True, her life had not gone the way she had expected and things could have gone more smoothly, but for right now, life was good.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - Yes I continued with the Wishshipping. It just felt right. I also threw in a small, but not explicit sex scene as it felt like the right place to do so. It was tame enough that I'm pretty sure it didn't break the M rating guidelines, but in any case, that is the main story done. Just the epilogue to go. :D

Thanks for reading.


	24. Chapter 24

****Disclaimer:** **I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - Tying up the loose ends here. I think I managed to cover everything. :)

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Once they returned from their honeymoon, Anzu and Seto had given an interview explaining exactly what had happened to bring them together, although they glossed over Seto's original plot to get one over on 'The King of Games' and his initial reaction to Anzu's pregnancy. Some questions that were deemed as being too personal were also abruptly ignored. The interview was partially to sate public demand, but also to counter some of the claims made by Anzu's mother as she had sold her 'true' story to some rag for a large amount of money almost as soon as she had been thrown out of the wedding.

Antoine had been aghast at some of the claims Mizuki had made and had immediately sued the woman for slander and libel, something that Seto and Anzu had also done as soon as the news had reached them. It would end up costing Mizuki more than the sum she had been paid for her story in the first place.

Mizuki's assistant, Shana, had left in disgust once she learned the whole truth behind Mizuki's life, so the woman had found herself friendless and alone. In the end she had sold her holiday home, taken what money she had left (which was not an inconsiderable amount), changed her look, moved to a different city and had gone back to using her maiden name in order to start anew. However, Kaiba had not been thrown off and he made a point of keeping tabs on her in case she got any funny ideas in the future.

The truth of Anzu's parentage had also been disclosed, ending the speculation that had sprung up after Mizuki's claims at the wedding. The DNA test had quickly come back with the confirmation that Anzu was indeed Antoine's daughter. They had been given the news by Dr. Kenn once Anzu and Seto had returned home and both father and daughter had been very emotional, which was to be expected.

However, it actually took Jonouchi to point out that Anzu's name was actually made up from her parent's names, those being **AN**oine and Mi**ZU**ki. That had raised a groan from Seto who knew he should have noticed something like that before 'the Mutt' did and he got rather cross when Jonouchi laughed about actually getting something before the great Seto Kaiba.

After the interview, the press had pretty much left them alone, apart from taking the occasional photo of them together. Of course most of the papers concentrated on Anzu's expanding stomach, something that she took with ill grace, but she knew such things could not realistically be avoided.

Yugi and Jonouchi's relationship had also moved on and they were currently quite happy together. Jonouchi still occasionally worried about being Yugi's second choice and that he was therefore second best, but Yugi always did his best to reassure him – at least until the next time that Jonouchi started worrying again. Yugi couldn't be too upset about this as he knew that in a way it was his own fault. But as time went on, Jou began to settle more and understand that Yugi really did care for him, which made Yugi relax too.

Honda had eventually forgiven them all for keeping such a large secret from him, but their friendship did remain slightly strained and he became partially estranged from the group. But then seeing as he tended to hang around with Otogi, a known business rival to Seto Kaiba, things would likely have become strained whether he had been kept in the loop or not. Anzu lamented the change in the group's dynamic and she couldn't help but feel partially at fault, but she also knew that this was all part of growing up and although they may not be as close as they once had been, they would always be friends.

However, she did have to laugh when Otogi and Honda argued over Shizuka. What she knew – as did Seto and Yugi – was that Shizuka had become quite taken with the younger Kaiba who also seemed to be quite taken with Shizuka in return. Seto had often complained - whilst Jonouchi wasn't around - that if he ended up being related to the Mutt he would have to disown Mokuba but they all knew that would be a long way off and a lot could happen in the meantime. But despite that, no one wanted to be the one to tell Jonouchi as they all knew that he could be too over-protective of his sister.

As for the other players through this story? Madame Kazuki had been absolutely aghast when she realised that she had treated Antoine Pierre's daughter so shabbily and a few days after the interview was broadcast, Antoine had received a letter containing a grovelling apology from the woman. However, neither Anzu or Antoine were the kind to hold a grudge so, given that Kaiba Corporation spies had reported that the atmosphere had improved considerably at the studio after the fateful visit by Seto and Antoine, they had accepted her apology and Antoine had hesitantly begun to visit Madame Kazuki's studio once again. Anzu had accompanied him on occasion, but she was not surprised in the slightest as she was now treated much differently by the other girls. However, she knew that they only saw her as a way to curry favour with Antoine, especially as they had been forbidden from approaching him directly, so she took whatever they said with a massive dose of salt.

Maya had almost gone into meltdown as she watched the Kaiba's wedding. However she knew, thanks to many sessions of counselling and due to the extremely disappointed reaction from her parents, that she had no choice but to let it go. It had been made clear to her that she had been lucky to get off with being expelled from Domino High and given a sentence of several hours of community service, especially as she knew that Seto Kaiba could have made things _so_ much worse for her. Once she'd learned that they had already been married at that time and that Anzu was pregnant with his child, she wondered that he hadn't gone further, but she dare not take that as any kind of encouraging sign as she knew that it was likely to have been Anzu that had talked him into being lenient.

Makoto had been quite bitter after what had occurred at the arcade. However, when her father had laughed aloud about Anzu being pregnant, shouting that Kaiba wouldn't know what had hit him and he would soon find out what it was like to have spoiled kids, Makoto had been surprised as she found herself defending both Kaiba and Anzu. Deep down she knew that she could be happy for Anzu and she silently hoped that everything worked out for them.

All in all, things ended quietly and that was for the best.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As the months passed by and the birth drew ever closer, Anzu did slow down with her dancing lessons somewhat, mainly to keep Seto happy as he had never really been happy about her continuing with them in the first place. The sessions she shared with Antoine were mostly spent doing several gentle exercises designed to keep her in shape, then talking about their lives and getting to know each other properly outside of the role of teacher and student. Antoine often lamented not being there for his daughter through her difficult childhood, but he was looking forward to making up for that by being there for his grandchild.

As time wore on, Anzu began to become more fractious, feeling like she couldn't go anywhere or do anything, a hard thing for the normally free spirited girl. The tension as they waited for the moment that the baby would arrive was hard on all of them. It became quite telling, Mokuba escaping to stay with Yugi and Jonouchi quite often and Seto heading out to work more than he seemed to need to, something that made Anzu even more fractious as she found herself spending a lot of time alone during the day.

This was to come to a head one fateful morning just as Seto was heading out t Kaiba Corporation.

"Seto, could you stay at home today please," Anzu asked. She felt that she needed him close today and this was the first time that she had felt the need to ask.

"I'm sorry," Seto said with only a hint of apology. "I have several important meetings scheduled today that I just cannot miss." He picked up his briefcase and made to leave.

Anzu sagged. "Fine, go to your precious company," she spat, turning to walk back up the stairs. "I'll just sit here all alone. Again."

"Don't be like that Anzu," Seto said. "I need to do these things so that I can spend more time with you once the baby comes."

"But I need you now," she said, not turning back to look at him. She didn't want him to see her cry. "I just... wanted you to myself for a little longer."

Seto hesitated. Maybe he had made a mistake by scheduling so much work, but he really did need to get these meetings out of the way. "I really am sorry," he said, although he didn't approach her. "I'll make sure that I stay home tomorrow."

"No," she said petulantly. "I need you at home now."

"Anzu you are being completely unreasonable," Seto said with stern exasperation. "You know that..." he ducked as an ornament sailed past his head and smashed upon the floor. "What the..."

"Go on! Get out!" she screamed. "I don't need you!" She moved up the stairs as fast as she was able and stormed into their bedroom, slamming the door closed behind her.

Seto stood stunned as she disappeared out of sight. She was obviously very upset. Her hormones, coupled with the tension of waiting for the birth, probably weren't helping either. Well, he had no choice but to head into Kaiba Corporation anyway. Perhaps she would have calmed down by the time he got back and he did mean what he said about taking the next day off too. In fact once the day's meetings were done with, he would be free for quite a while, so he chose what he considered to be the lesser of two evils and went out to work.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu lay on the bed, listening as the front door closed and she heard Seto's car being driven away, then she broke down and cried. Maybe she was being selfish and unreasonable, but she really did feel that she needed Seto to be at home with her today and he had not listened to her.

She lay there for a few minutes longer then forced herself to get up, wincing as her back began aching again. It had been paining her in a low, achy way for several days now, which was getting quite irritating. She moved to the bathroom, feeling that taking a shower may help.

She was right and the shower did help a bit, but as she finished dressing and went to leave the bathroom she let out a gasp and leaned against the wall as pain gripped her - hard. No wonder she had wanted Seto to stay with her today, she was quite clearly going into labour!

She waited for the contraction to pass, then moved to sit on the bed as she waited for the next to begin to see just how far along she was. She gasped again - and not just from the pain - as she noted that they were already at less than five minute intervals. It was time to go! As soon as she was able, she got up and waddled down the stairs to obtain some help.

She was met by Isono, who calmly grabbed her bags and helped her to the car. Then she was speeding towards the hospital where her midwife – personally selected by herself, Seto and Dr. Kenn – would meet her.

But what about Seto? When would he come? She could only hope that he would make it before the baby was born.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto groaned as he got out of his first and potentially shortest meeting of the day. He had to wonder why the hell he was doing this. He also wondered how Anzu was. She had been rather upset that morning so he decided that he had better head back to his office and call her.

"Mr. Kaiba," his secretary called him as he was about to enter his sanctuary, "There is an urgent call for you on line one."

He groaned aloud as he heard that. So much for calling Anzu. "Thank you, Rei," he said. Then he crossed to his desk and picked up the phone. "Kaiba," he barked, not bothering to hide his irritation as he answered the call. He listened for a moment, then paled slightly and dropped the phone back into the cradle before bolting from the office. "Cancel the rest of my meetings," he barked at his secretary urgently.

"But Mr. Kaiba..." she began, only for him to cut her off.

"I don't care," he growled. "Cancel them. I'm going to the hospital as my wife is about to give birth." He turned to leave.

"Oh, congratulations sir," Rei said. "And drive carefully."

Seto nodded, then he was finally able to leave. As it happened, he didn't have to drive because Isono was already waiting at the front of the building with the limousine. It was probably just as well, he mused. It wouldn't do Anzu any good if he couldn't get there in one piece!

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Anzu was cursing and pacing the room as she waited for Seto to arrive. Things were moving along fairly quickly and she hoped that he would actually make it before it was too late. She had never known Seto to be late for anything, so if he didn't make it for this, it would be one hell of a first!

Fortunately, Seto arrived just a few minutes later. He stopped dead as the door closed behind him, taking in the scene of Anzu leaning against the bed and groaning as the midwife rubbed at her back. He well and truly had a deer in the headlights look on his face.

"Shouldn't she be on the bed?" he asked dumbly by way of announcing his arrival, causing the midwife to roll her eyes at him. It would seem that even the great Seto Kaiba was prone to having his brains turn to mush when his wife was in the process of delivering his child.

"With all due respect, Mr. Kaiba," she said in a tone that let him know exactly what she thought of that question, "we went through all this during the ante-natal classes on the run up to today and you should recall that it is far better for both mother and baby if she is able to move around during her labour."

"Of course," he said, shaking the mush out of his head. He needed to focus. He put down his ever present briefcase and took off his jacket before crossing over to where Anzu was straightening up as she recovered from the contraction. "Anzu, I'm sorry for this morning..." he began.

"No, it's not your fault," she said as she stretched slightly and rubbed at her back. "I was being totally unreasonable and you know it."

"I think that in the circumstances, your demands were quite reasonable," Seto said with a smile, "and I should have listened to you instead of brushing you off."

"I'm glad you're here," she said as she leaned against him, happy that he was here to give her support. "I was beginning to think that you wouldn't get the messa... Ooh!" she groaned and leaned over the bed again as the next contraction hit, this time Seto moving into place to rub at her back as she moved her hips uncomfortably.

"There wasn't much time between those contractions, was there?" He asked.

"No, it really shouldn't take much longer until she'll be ready to push," the midwife informed him with a smile. "She's doing really well."

"But I thought that first births took a long time," Seto said, shocked.

"They usually do," the midwife shrugged, "but apparently she has had severe backache for several days and sometimes early labour can present like that."

"Oh God, can't it be over already?" Anzu moaned as the contraction ended. She made to get up again, but the midwife stopped her.

"Just stay there, love," she said as she bent to examine Anzu as Seto looked on with a semi-stunned look. "It really won't be very long now. You are already fully dilated." She looked up at Seto who was looking even more utterly shell shocked at how fast things were moving. "Looks like you got here just in time."

"Oh thank God," Anzu said, moving away from the bed and to a place where there was a mat on the floor, Seto supporting her and wondering what she was doing. She sank down then, pulling Seto with her and arranging herself so that she was on her knees and had her head on his shoulder as he supported her.

"Will this be OK?" he asked.

"Everything is going really well and so whatever she wants, within reason, is fine," the midwife informed him in a businesslike manner. "But you won't be able to see your baby being born from there."

"That's fine," Seto said, paling slightly. "I'm happy to stay right where I am if that's what Anzu wants." He hadn't really wanted to witness the actual birth as the recollection of the videos they had watched during the ante-natal classes had made him feel quite sick. This was a good compromise.

"Good," Anzu said almost dreamily. "I'm happy with you being here." She stiffened then as another contraction hit her, but this was different from the ones before. "Ooh... I want to push," she moaned.

"Wait for the next one," the midwife said. "Just pant through this one."

Anzu did as she was told and the midwife examined her again once the contraction was done, as awkward as it was with the position she was in. "The baby has already started to descend," she said. "You can start pushing on the next contraction."

Which Anzu gladly did, grunting and swearing as she struggled to bring forth their child. Seto supported her all the way, whispering encouraging words and urging her on as best as he could. Soon the midwife was calling for her to 'pant for the head', and then with one last push, there was a loud cry as the baby took it's first breath, loudly protesting being forced into the world.

"Congratulations," the midwife said as the assistant midwife cut the cord, "It's a boy!" Seto almost fainted, but forced himself to stay lucid as he helped Anzu to turn over so as she could meet their baby. He knew that to collapse right now would only hurt Anzu as she was relying on him for support.

Once the afterbirth was delivered and the clean up done, Anzu had been moved to the bed where she now sat nursing their newborn son as Seto looked on with terrified wonder. The baby finished suckling and Anzu held him out for his father to take. "Go on," she encouraged as he hesitated.

Seto finally reached out to take the child, looking down in wonder as he cradled the tiny creature that he had helped to create. "Welcome to the world, Seth," he said, then he looked up at Anzu, "if that is still OK with you?"

"You know it is," she said. "Seth is a fine name for our boy."

Seto moved to sit on the bed next to his wife, still holding his sleeping son, which was how the small group that had come to see them found them when they were finally allowed in a few minutes later.

As Seto took in all the congratulations from Mokuba, Yugi, Jonouchi and Antoine, he realised that he had come a very long way in less than a year. He now had friends, a wife and he was even a father, but he decided that if he had his time over, he wouldn't change a thing.

No matter what the future would hold and even if this wasn't how he had originally envisaged the direction his life would take, in this moment he felt that he had truly won the game.

FIN

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N**- And so we come to the end. This part actually took more editing and sorting out than any of the other parts, probably because most of it was written on the very last day of NaNo and I was skimming a bit in order to reach 'the end' by midnight on 30th November. XD

I was thinking about dusting off 2010's NaNo next, but I read it over a few days ago and it needs a _massive_ amount of work to make it worth posting. I will be honest and say that I haven't felt like writing at all recently. In fact I haven't written anything meaningful since finishing the first draft of this story on November 30th last year and I don't know if I'm up to taking on the massive task of making 2010's NaNo postable. (RL sucks, seriously.)

Thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement during the time I was editing and posting this story and thank you for reading. :D


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